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UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA 

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Accessions  No.  -&£*/.-.      Shelf 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ROME: 


LECTURES 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


f  tgation  of  tjje  liuM  States  of 


IN     ROME. 


BY   THE 

REV.  C.  M.  BUTLER,  D.I)., 

PROFESSOR   OF   ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  IN  THE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL,  PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

,T.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

1865. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


UNIVERSITY 


PREFACE. 


THE  author  of  the  following  lectures  has,  as  it 
will  be  seen,  adapted  himself,  in  their  prepara- 
tion, to  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  placed.  Addressing  a  shifting  audience  of 
tourists,  whose  minds  were  absorbed  in  the  mon- 
uments and  memories  and  ceremonies  of  pagan  and 
papal  Rome,  he  desired  to  place  before  them  the 
great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  as  the  embodiment 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of  pagan 
impurities  and  Christian  superstitions;  and  to  rally 
around  the  greatest  presence  that  ever  appeared  in 
Rome  some  of  the  interest  which  is  lavished  on  less 
worthy  objects.  Looking  "on  this  picture  and  on 
that,"  he  felt  assured  that  his  hearers  could  not  but 
appreciate  the  divine  purity  and  beauty  of  Pauline 
Christianity,  in  contrast  with  the  disingenuous  system 
which  unwarrantably  invokes  the  name  of  the  sin- 
gle-minded Peter,  and  with  the  hideous  heathenism 
of  the  Rome  of  £Tero.  Hence  he  has  not  hesitated 
to  enter  into  historical  details,  which  however  un- 
suited,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  to  the  pulpit,  might 


IV  PREFACE. 

be  at  the  same  time  peculiarly  interesting  to  those 
who  were  sojourning  in  the  scenes  where  they  oc- 
curred, and  would  tend  to  deepen  and  fix  the  impres- 
sions which  it  was  his  purpose  to  convey.  They  are 
intended  as  the  dark  back-ground  of  his  sketch,  in 
order  to  bring  it  out  with  more  distinctness. 

In  prosecuting  his  purpose,  the  author  does  not 
claim  to  have  thrown  any  new  light  on  the  question 
of  St.  Paul's  sojourn  at  Rome.  He  has  only  at- 
tempted to  concentrate  that  light,  and  by  its  aid  to 
look  steadily  at  some  of  the  details  of  that  historical 
picture  in  which  both  N"ero  and  Paul  are  introduced, 
which  might  easily  escape  a  casual  observation. 
Hence  he  has  not  felt  it  needful  to  encumber  his 
pages  with  foot-notes  of  references  to  authorities. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  name  the  few  authors  who 
have  furnished  most  of  the  materials  which  he  has 
employed.  They  are  the  following:  Tacitus;  Sue- 
tonius; Les  Cedars  par  le  Cte.  Franz  de  Champagny, 
3  vols.,  Paris,  1859;  Storia  degli  Imperatori  Roman! 
da  Augusto  Sino  Costantino  de,  Sigg  Lebeau, 
Crevier,  etc.,  36  vols.,  Roma,  1857;  Indicazione  To- 
pographica  de  Roma  Antica  in  correspondenza  dell' 
Epoca  imperiale  del  Commendatore  Luigi  Qanina, 
1  vol.,  Roma,  1850;  Gli  Edifici  di  Roma  Antica  e 
sua  Campagna,  Luigi  Canina,  6  vols.  folio,  Roma, 
1851 ;  the  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  by  the  Rev. 
W.  J.  Conybeare,  M.  A.,  late  Fellow  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Cambridge,  and  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Howson,  D.D., 


PREFACE.  V 

principal  of  the  Collegiate  Institute,  Liverpool,  two 
volumes,  People's  edition,  London,  1863;  Lectures 
upon  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  first  three 
centuries,  by  Edward  Burton,  D.D.,  Oxford,  1845. 
Baronius,  Fleury,  and  the  Papal  Constitutions  have 
been  consulted  in  the  library  of  the  Convent  of 
Minerva. 

It  would  not  interest  the  reader  of  these  discourses 
to  know  the  few  modifications  which  they  have 
undergone  in  preparing  them  for  the  press.  They 
are  published  in  substance  as  they  were  delivered. 

The  last  Lecture,  on  the  claims  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  to  exclusive  sanctity,  to  infallibility,  and  to 
unity,  has  no  immediate  connection  with  the  series 
upon  St.  Paul.  It  was  delivered  last  year,  after  the 
hearing  of  a  discourse  by  Monsignore  Manning. 
I  venture  to  publish  it,  because  although  hastily  pre- 
pared, it  contains  a  refutation  of  that  one  train  of 
argument  which  is  over  and  over  again  repeated,  by 
the  distinguished  author,  to  the  English  and  Ameri- 
can auditors  who  crowd  to  listen  to  his  Advent  and 
Lenten  Sermons. 

The  author  cannot  conclude  this  preface  without 
the  expression  of  his  gratification  at  the  favor  with 
which  the  discourses  were  received  by  the  congrega- 
tion, of  several  nationalities  and  many  denomina- 
tions, to  which  they  were  delivered.  It  is  but  jus- 
tice to  himself  to  add  that  it  is  at  the  instance  of 
many  clerical  brethren,  English,  American,  and 

1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

Scotch,  that  he  ventures  to  commit  them  to  the 
press. 

As  he  pens  these  lines,  it  is  with  a  feeling  of  sad- 
ness that  he  rememhers  how  many  loved  brethren 
and  friends,  who  listened  to  these  discourses,  and 
with  whom  he  has  taken  sweet  counsel  in  the  house 
of  God,  under  circumstances  well  calculated  to 
deepen  and  enrich  all  Christian  sympathies  and  affec- 
tions, are  now  dispersed  and  journey  ing  far  over  sea 
and  land.  May  grace,  mercy,  and  peace  attend 
them  and  abide  upon  them  forever! 

ROME,  April  6,  1864. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

St.  Paul's  Relation  to  the  Church  of  Borne  as  exhibited 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

The  Papacy  a  gradual  growth.  Presumptions  in  favor  of  St. 
Paul's  rather  ihan  St.  Peter's  headship  of  the  church.  St. 
Paul  makes  no  allusion,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  to  St. 
Peter's  presence  or  official  connection  with  them.  He  claims 
authority  over  them  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  The  same 
claim  is  implied  in  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Epistle.  The  chief 
design  of  the  Epistle  was  to  show  that  man  could  not  be  saved 
by  works,  but  by  the  faith  which  appropriates  the  finished 
work  of  Christ.  Jewish  misapprehension  of  the  consequences 
of  this  doctrine  corrected.  St.  Paul's  salutations  to  the  Chris- 
tians at  Rome.  The  profound  interest  connected  with  recall- 
ing them  on  the  spot.  Departure  of  the  present  Church  of 
Rome  from  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  St.  Paul 13 


II. 

The  Circumstances  which  preceded  St,  Paul's  Journey 
to  Rome, 

Origin  of  the  Church  in  Rome.  St.  Paul's  visit  to  Jerusalem. 
State  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem.  His  reception.  The  Naz- 
aritic  vow.  St.  Paul's  wise  dealing  with  Jewish  prejudices. 
The  fanaticism  of  the  Jews.  Their  misrepresentation  of  St. 
Paul.  Their  persecution  of  him.  St.  Paul  before  the  Sanhe- 
drim. St.  Paul  in  prison.  The  appearance  and  promise  of 
Christ  to  him.  St.  Paul  sent  by  night  to  Caesarea.  Ar- 
raigned before  Felix.  Festus  succeeds  Felix.  Paul's  ad- 

(vii) 


Ill  CONTENTS. 

dress  to  Festus  and  Agrippa.  His  appeal  to  Caesar.  Con- 
trast of  fanatical  and  persecuting  zeal  with  the  holy  and  loving 
zeal  exhibited  in  the  Jews  and  in  St.  Paul 36 


III. 

St.  Paul's  Journey  to  Rome  from  Puteoli. 

St.  Paul's  entrance  into  the  Bay  of  Naples.  The  splendor  of  the 
scene.  The  position,  work,  prospects,  and  feelings  of  St. 
Paul.  His  sojourn  at  Puteoli.  His  journey  to  Rome.  The  meet- 
ing of  St.  Paul  with  the  brethren  at  the  Appii  Forum  and  the 
Three  Taverns.  View  from  the  Alban  Hills.  The  Appian  Way. 
Appearance  of  Rome  from  Albano.  The  Roman  custom  of 
placing  tombs  upon  the  great  highways.  Its  reason  and  its 
significance.  St.  Paul's  passage  through  the  city  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Praetorian  prefect.  Paul  permitted  to  dwell 
by  himself  with  a  soldier  that  kept  him.  Paul  in  bonds 
preaching  the  Gospel.  Reflections 58 

IY. 
St.  Paul  and  the  Jews  in  Rome. 

Locality  of  St.  Paul's  hired  house.  State  of  the  Jews  in  Rome. 
Origin  of  the  Jewish  community  at  Rome.  Causes  of  mutual 
animosity  between  the  Jews  and  Romans.  Caligula  orders  his 
statues  to  be  worshiped.  Tumults  in  consequence  at  Alex- 
andria. Capito  erects  an  altar  to  the  god  Caius.  Order  of 
Caligula  to  have  his  colossal  statue  set  up  in  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem.  Violent  excitement  of  the  Jews.  Their  petition 
to  the  proconsul  Petroniiis.  Assassination  of  Caligula.  The 
Jews  protected  during  the  first  years  of  Nero's  reign.  Testi- 
mony of  St.  Paul  to  the  Jews  in  Rome.  Its  reception  by  the 
Jews.  Their  judicial  blindness.  Their  persecution  and  dis- 
persion to  continue  so  long  as  they  reject  the  Gospel.  Condi- 
tion of  the  Jews  in  Rome  since  the  time  of  Paul.  The  triumph 
of  Vespasian  and  Titus.  Treatment  of  the  Jews  by  the  Pope. 
The  humiliation  and  degradation  to  which  they  have  been  sub- 
jected. Their  present  wretched  condition  in  Rome.  A  strik- 
ing fulfillment  of  prophecy  and  of  St.  Paul's  declaration.  The 
foretold  restoration  and  conversion  of  the  Jews. ..,  81 


CONTENTS.  IX 


Y. 
St.  Paul  in  his  own  Hired  House. 

Locality  of  St.  Paul's  house.  St.  Paul  permitted  to  preach  and 
teach.  The  fact  explained  by  the  influence  of  Seneca  and 
Burrus,  by  ignorance  of  the  essential  antagonism  of  Christi- 
anity to  all  pagan  systems,  by  the  protection  of  the  Empress 
Poppea,  and  by  the  then  absence  of  any  motive  on  the  part  of 
Nero  for  the  persecution  of  Christians.  St.  Paul  received  all 
who  came  to  him.  Probable  character  of  his  assemblies.  St. 
Paul  preached  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  taught  the  things  that 
concern  the  Lord  Jesus.  Importance  of  the  visible  church. 
Its  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  that  era.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  teachings  of  St.  Paul  and  that  of  the  Church 
of  Rome 109 

VI. 
Caesar's  Household,  and  the  Saints. 

1.  The  house  of  Caesar.  The  palaces  of  Augustus,  Tiberius, 
Caligula,  and  Nero.  2.  The  household  of  Nero.  Sketches  of 
the  family  of  the  Csesars.  3.  The  saints  in  Caesar's  household. 
Their  position.  Their  fidelity.  Their  example.  4.  The  other 
saints  in  Rome.  Epaphroditus,  Tychicus,  Onesimus,  Aristar- 
chus,  Justus,  Epaphras,  Timothy,  Mark,  Luke.  Contrast  of 
the  household  of  Caesar,  and  of  the  saints  in  his  household 
and  the  other  saints  in  Rome ,.  133 


YIL 

St.  Paul's  Position  in  reference  to  Established  Cus- 
toms and  Institutions. 

Delay  in  the  trial  of  St.  Paul.  The  principle  of  his  procedure 
in  relation  to  existing  customs  and  institutions.  Illustrated 
in  reference  to  (1)  the  Jewish  economy,  (2)  the  family,  and  (3) 
the  state.  The  Jewish  economy  no  longer  to  be  enforced  as 
of  divine  institution.  The  family  a  divine  institution.  The 
puriiy  of  the  Roman  family  during  the  Republic.  The  cor- 


X  CONTENTS. 

ruption  subsequently  introduced.  St.  Paul  enjoins  the  duties 
of  the  family  relation,  but  does  not  assail  the  prevailing  cor- 
ruptions of  that  relation.  Purifying  influence  of  the  Gospel. 
The  state  divine.  The  relative  duties  of  magistrates  and  citi- 
zens enjoined.  Why  the  powers  that  be  are  said  to  be  ordained 
of  God,  and  obedience  without  limitation  "unto  the  Lord,"  is 
enjoined.  Conclusion 159 

VIII. 

St.  Paul's  Position  in  reference  to  Established  Cus- 
toms and  Institutions. 

St.  Paul's  method  of  dealing  with  established  customs  and  insti- 
tutions restated.  Illustrated  in  the  case  of  Caligula,  Claudius, 
and  Nero ;  and  in  reference  to  games  and  gladiatorial  combats. 
The  example  of  the  Saviour  followed  by  St.  Paul.  Reflec- 
tions   179 

IX. 

St.  Paul's  Position  in  reference  to  Established  Cus- 
toms and  Institutions. 

St.  Paul  sometimes  enjoins  the  relative  duties  of  relations  which 
are  evil  in  their  origin  or  themselves.  This  principle  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  the  marriage  of  Christians  to  heathens. 
The  absence  to  condemn  does  not  imply  the  approbation  of  a 
custom.  Exhortations  to  masters  and  slaves.  The  case  of 
Onesimus  considered 197 

X. 

St.  Paul's  Position  in  reference  to  Established  Cus- 
toms and  Institutions. 

The  condition  of  slaves  in  Rome.  The  wisdom  of  St.  Paul's 
treatment  of  the  case  of  Onesimus.  The  emancipating  influ- 
ence of  the  principle  of  Christian  brotherhood.  System  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States.  Personal  impressions  in  ref- 
erence to  the  character  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  Com- 
parison of  American  and  Roman  slavery.  Mistaken  extremes 
in  reference  to  slavery  in  the  United  States 214 


CONTENTS.  XI 

XI. 

St.  Paul's  Second  Imprisonment  at  Rome, 

St.  Paul  liberated  from  his  first  imprisonment.  Preaches  the 
Gospel  in  the  East  and  in  the  West.  His  second  imprison- 
ment. Its  hardships.  His  trial.  His  imprisonment  and  death. 
Inquiry  into  the  traditions  concerning  his  imprisonment  and 
death,  and  the  imprisonment  and  crucifixion  of  St.  Peter  at 
Rome.  The  tradition  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopate,  at  Rome,  not 
a  true  tradition.  The  absence  of  proof  of  the  fact ;  and  the 
presumptions  against  the  fact.  Conclusion 237 

XII. 

The  Claim  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  Sanctity,  Infal- 
libility, and  Unity  considered. 

The  relation  of  the  Church  and  the  Word  of  God.  Sanctity  as- 
serted to  be  found  only  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Confutation 
of  this  claim.  The  claim  of  infallibility  based  upon  its  neces- 
sity. The  necessity  denied,  and  the  infallibility  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  confuted.  The  unity  of  the  Church  of  Rome  shown 
to  be  less  real  than  that  of  Protestantism.  Concluding  obser- 
vations...    ....  268 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ROME. 


LECTURE  I. 

ST.  PAUL'S    RELATION   TO   THE    CHURCH    OF    ROME   AS 
EXHIBITED    IN   HIS    EPISTLE  TO   THE    ROMANS. 

To  all  that  be  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God,  called  to  be  saints;  grace  be 
to  you  and  peace  from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — 
ROMANS,  i.  7. 

I  PROPOSE  to  deliver  a  series  of  discourses  on  St. 
Paul  in  the  relations  which  he  sustained  to  Rome  and 
the  church  in  Rome;  and  I  commence  the  series 
with  the  consideration  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

If  the  Papacy  had  not  been  a  gradual  growth, 
rather  than  a  manufacture  or  an  invention,  it  would 
seem  as  if  St.  Paul  and  not  St.  Peter  would  have 
been  designated  as  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  and 
head  of  the  church,  with  his  see  at  Rome.  A  far 
more  powerful  argument,  independent  of  Romish 
tradition,  could  certainly  be  constructed  for  the 
claims  of  the  former  than  of  the  latter. 

It  is  certain  that  St.  Paul  was  long  at  Rome.  It 
is  probable  that  he  visited  it  a  second  time,  and 
underwent  martyrdom  in  Rome  during  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  church  by  Nero.  That  St.  Peter  was 
ever  there  is  more  than  doubtful.  The  learned  Dr. 

2  (13) 


14  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

Barrow  has  demonstrated   that  there  is  no  proof 
that  St.  Peter  ever  went  to  Rome. 

It  was  to  St.  Paul  that  the  Apostleship  of  the  Gen- 
tiles was  distinctly  assigned,  and  to  St.  Peter  that  of 
the  circumcision. 

The  qualifications  of  St.  Paul,  no  less  than  his 
express  designation  to  the  Apostleship  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, fitted  him  far  better  for  this  office,  if  such  an 
office  were  to  be  established,  than  St.  Peter.  St. 
Paul  was  riot  only  learned  as  a  Jew,  but  was  also 
largely  imbued  with  Gentile  learning.  St.  Peter  was 
an  uncultured  fisherman.  St.  Paul  was  a  man  of 
large  and  balanced  powers,  set  in  constant  and  ener- 
getic motion  by  a  fervor  which  never  destroyed  his 
judgment.  St.  Peter  was  fervid  indeed,  but  rash 
and  inconstant.  In  all  that  constitutes  qualification 
for  headship,  and  the  administration  of  a  large  body, 
composed  of  Jews  and  Gentiles,  Greeks  and  Bar- 
barians, newly  united  in  the  profession  of  a  religion 
which  was  the  opprobrium  of  the  world,  St.  Paul  was 
immeasurably  the  superior.  Nor  is  it  an  answer  to 
this  suggestion  to  say  that  God  hath  chosen  the  folly 
of  the  world,  and  the  weakness  of  the  world  to  over- 
throw its  wisdom  and  its  strength,  for  of  that  which 
was  all  equal  folly  and  weakness  in  the  eye  of 
the  world,  he  made  choices  and  special  adaptations; 
and  it  was  under  divine  guidance  that  he  became 
"to  the  Greeks  as  a  Greek." 

On  the  ground  of  probability,  we  can  scarcely 
suppose  that  he  alone  of  aH  the  twelve  who  had 
denied  his  Master,  would  have  been  designated  as  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  rather  than  the  ever-loyal 
and  devoted  Paul. 
.  If  we  search  for  Scripture  proof  to  countenance 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  15 

this  claim  for  one  or  other  of  the  Apostles,  how 
much  more  to  the  purpose  than  the  strained  inter- 
pretations of  the  expressions,  "thou  art  Peter,"  and 
"feed  my  sheep,"  is  the  direct  assertion  of  St.  Paul, 
"that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all 
the  churches?" 

In  such  an  argument,  the  fact  that  St.  Paul  was 
miraculously  called  by  the  ascended  Christ,  the  glo- 
rified head  of  the  church,  and  set  apart  for  an  Apos- 
tleship  peculiar  in  its  extent  and  its  sufferings,  in 
connection  with  the  fact  that  he  actually  traversed 
a  large  portion  of  the  Roman  world,  and  addressed 
the  churches  in  a  tone  of  authority,  might  be  ad- 
duced with  much  plausibility. 

Nor  would  it  be  a  less  remarkable  fact,  in  this 
connection,  that  in  accordance  with  what  might 
have  been  reasonably  expected  from  the  head  of 
the  church,  there  are  in  the  sacred  canon  fourteen 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  some  of  them  the  most  elabor- 
ate and  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  church  uni- 
versal; while  there  are  but  two  from  St.  Peter, 
which,  though  glowing  and  glorious,  are  addressed 
to  the  strangers,  or  the  dispersed  Jewish  Christians. 

And  lastly,  the  fact  that  the  most  elaborate  of  all 
these  Epistles  is  addressed  to  the  Roman  Christians, 
and  adopts  toward  them  the  tone  of  one  who  feels 
that  he  has  over  them  a  divinely  commissioned  su- 
perintendence, while  nothing  of  this  kind  remains 
of  St.  Peter,  confirms  the  conviction  that  if  the 
Papacy  had  been  not  an  historical  development,  but 
a  theological  invention,  to  St.  Paul  and  not  to  St. 
Peter  would  have  been  assigned  the  headship  of  the 
Apostles,  and  the  Yicarate  of  Christ. 

It  is  to  the  relation  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Church  of 


16  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Rome,  previous  to  his  personal  presence  in  it,  and  as 
seen  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  that  I  now  direct 
my  argument. 

I.  The  tone  and  purport  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  preclude  the  supposition  that  St.  Peter 
had  superintendence  and'  charge  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  because  he  makes  no  allusion  to  the  pres- 
ence of  St.  Peter,  or  any  other  Apostle  at  Rome, 
and  seems  in  it  distinctly  to  assume  authority  over 
it  for  himself. 

1.  The  omission  to  mention  the  presence  and 
authority  of  St.  Peter,  and  to  enjoin  upon  the  Roman 
Church  spiritual  obedience  to  him,  is  incredible  upon 
the  supposition  that  he  was  then,  and  had  been  for 
fifteen  years,  the  recognized  Bishop  of  that  see.  The 
claim  of  the  Church  of  Rome  is  that  St.  Peter  be- 
came Bishop  of  Rome  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  43, 
and  held  the  episcopate  for  twenty-three  years.  His 
Epistle  was  written  in  the  year  58.  K"ow  nothing 
could  be  more  unbecoming,  intrusive,  discourteous, 
and  less  like  St.  Paul,  than  an  epistle  to  the  Romans 
without  a  single  allusion  to  their  Bishop  of  fifteen 
years'  standing,  and  as  if  he  himself  possessed  a 
rightful  authority  to  admonish  and  teach  and  guide 
them.  Even  on  the  supposition  that  St.  Paul  had 
been  the  divinely  constituted  head  of  all  the  churches 
upon  earth,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  him  guilty 
of  such  an  omission.  Even  if  in  his  administration 
of  that  see  St.  Peter  was  to  be  blamed,  St.  Paul 
would  not  have  hesitated,  as  upon  another  occasion, 
to  have  blamed  him.  It  is  perfectly  incredible,  on 
the  supposition  that  St.  Peter  was  then  Bishop  of 
Rome,  and  head  of  all  the  churches,  that  St.  Paul 
should  not  have  recognized  him  in  either  of  these 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  17 

characters,  nor  alluded  to  him  either  for  praise  or 
censure. 

2.  But  he  distinctly  claims  for  himself  the  office  of 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Three  times  he  calls  himself 
such:  "For  I  speak  unto  you  Gentiles,  inasmuch  as 
lam  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  magnify  my  office."* 
Here  he  declares  that  he  speaks  to  them,  Gentiles, 
because  he  is  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles;  because 
he  has  been  set  apart  for  that  very  office,  and  hence 
has  a  right  to  speak;  and  in  view  of  this  desfgna- 
tion  he  magnifies  his  office.  In  the  opening  words  of 
the  Epistle,  he  declares  that  he  has  received  from  the 
risen  Saviour,  "  grace  and  Apostleship  for  obedience 
to  the  faith,  among  all  nations,  for  his  name;"  and 
then  adds,  "among  whom  are  ye  also,  the  called  of 
Jesus  Christ;"  and  then  he  pronounces  upon  them 
the  Apostolic  blessing  of  "grace  and  peace."  Here 
his  claims  cannot  be  misunderstood.  It  is  an  Apos- 
tleship in  order  to  the  obedience  of  faith  among  all 
nations,  and  of  them  were  the  Roman  Christians. 
And  then,  assuming  that  relation,  he  introduces  his 
Epistle  with  the  customary  Apostolic  benediction. 

Still  more  directly  to  this  purpose  is  his  language 
in  another  place :f  "Nevertheless,  brethren,  I  have 
written  unto  you  the  more  boldly,  in  some  sort,  as 
putting  you  in  mind,  because  of  the  grace  that  is 
given  to  me  of  God,  that  I  should  be  the  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  ministering  the  gospel 
of  God,  that  the  offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be 
acceptable,  being  sanctified  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I 
have,  therefore,  whereof  I  may  glory,  through  Christ 
Jesus,  in  those  things  which  pertain  to  God."  What 

*  Rom.  xii.  13.  t  Rom.  xv.  15,  16,  17. 


18  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

could  be  more  explicit?  He  writes  to  them,  remind- 
ing them  that,  through  the  grace  of  God,  he  has 
been  made  the  minister  of  God  to  them,  the  Gentiles. 
Hence  it  is  that  he  speaks  to  them  boldly.  Hence 
he  has  whereof  he  may  glory.  As  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles,  he  here  claims  the  right  and  the  duty 
to  address  to  them  the  Epistle  which  contains  the 
fullest  exposition  of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty 
which  is  contained  in  the  sacred  canon. 

3.  Besides  this  explicit  claim  of  the  right  to  ad- 
dress them  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  the  whole 
tenor  of  the  Epistle  implies  that  sense  of  right,  of  obliga- 
tion, and  of  authority.  It  is  true  that  in  some  other 
Epistles  may  be  found  more  distinct  assertions  of 
his  Apostolic  authority,  but  it  is  in  cases  where  he 
feels  called  upon  to  minister  rebuke  to  churches 
which  he  had  planted,  or  had  ministered  to,  in 
person.  When  he  wrote  to  the  Romans  it  was  to  a 
church  which  he  had  not  founded,  and  for  which  he 
had  not  words  of  rebuke  but  commendation.  "  Their 
faith  was  spoken  of  throughout  the  world."  Hence 
he  had  no  "need  to  use  sharpness  according  to 
the  power  which  the  Lord  had  given  him,"*  and  to 
vindicate  his  Apostolic  authority  as  in  the  second 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians ;  but  was  at  liberty  to  speak 
to  them  as  a  father,  with  the  affection  and  the  Chris- 
tian courtesy  which  was  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
traits  of  his  varied  and  balanced  character.  It  was 
because  the  Church  of  Rome  originated  without 
/Apostolic  agency  that  St.  Paul  felt  the  more  ur- 
;  gently  the  obligation,  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
\tiles,  to  visit  them ;  and  in  the  inability  to  do  that  as 

*  2  Corin.  xiii.  10. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  19 

soon  as  he  desired,  to  explain  the  causes  of  his  delay ; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  to  address  to  them  such  teach- 
ing and  exhortation  as  their  case  required.  That 
such  is  the  tone  of  his  Epistle  throughout,  must  be 
recognized  by  every  attentive  reader.  I  adduce  but 
two  passages  in  illustration  of  the  remark. 

After  a  declaration  of  his  divinely  commissioned 
Apostleship,  St.  Paul  proceeds  to  address  the 
Christians  at  Rome.  "  For  I  thank  my  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  for  you  all,  that  your  faith  is  spoken 
of  throughout  the  whole  world.  For  God  is  my  wit- 
ness, whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the  Gospel  of 
his  Son*,  that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you 
always  in  my  prayers:  making  request,  if  by  any 
means  now  at  length  I  might  have  a  prosperous 
journey,  by  the  will  of  God,  to  come  to  you;  for  I 
long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some 
spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established;  that 
is,  that  I  may  be  comforted  with  you  by  the  mutual 
faith  both  of  you  and  me.  Now,  I  would  not  have 
you  ignorant,  brethren,  how  that  oftentimes  I  pur- 
posed to  come  unto  you,  (but  was  let  hitherto,)  that 
I  might  have  some  fruit  among  you  also,  as  among 
other  Gentiles."*  It  is  all  the  language  of  a 
spiritual  father,  who  feels  that  those  to  whom  he 
writes  have  no  other  father,  and  that  he  has  a  duty 
toward  them  of  oversight  and  ministration;  who 
would  convince  those  to  whom  he  is  thus  related  that 
he  has  riot  willingly  neglected  them ;  that  he  longed 
to  see  them,  and  that  he  constantly  remembered  them 
in  his  prayers.  He  purposed  oftentimes  to  go  to 
them, — he  longed  to  see  them, — he  desired  both  to 

*  Rom.  i.  8-14. 


20  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

impart  and  to  receive  spiritual  gifts.  It  is  ineredi- 
(  ble  that  St.  Paul  should  have  written  in  this  strain 
;  if  St.  Peter  had  been  Bishop  of  Rome  and  Yicar 
I  of  Christ. 

Similar  in  its  tone  and  purport  to  this  introduc- 
tion is  St.  Paul's  lano-uacre  toward  the  close  of  the 

o        o 

Epistle.  "But  as  it  is  written  to  whom  he  was  not 
spoken  of  they  shall  see,  and  they  that  have  not 
heard  shall  understand.  From  which  cause  also  I 
have  been  much  hindered  in  coming  to  you;  but 
now,  having  no  more  place  in  these  parts,  and  having 
a  great  desire  these  many  years  to  come  unto  you, 
whensoever  I  take  my  journey  into  Spain  I  will  come 
to  you,  for  I  trust  to  see  you  in  my  journey,  and  to 
be  brought  on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first  I 
be  somewhat  filled  with  your  company.  But  now  I 
go  unto  Jerusalem  to  minister  unto  the  saints;  when 
therefore  I  have  performed  this,  and  have  sealed  to 
them  this  fruit,  I  will  come  unto  you  by  Spain.  And 
I  am  sure  that  when  I  come  unto  you  I  shall  come 
in  the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Now,  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  for  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ's  sake,  and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye 
strive  together  with  me  in  your  prayers  to  God  for  me, 
that  I  may  be  delivered  from  them  that  do  not  believe 
in  Judea,  and  that  my  service  which  I  have  for  Jeru- 
salem may  be  accepted  of  the  saints;  that  I  may 
come  unto  you  with  joy  by  the  will  of  God,  and  may 
with  you  be  refreshed.  Now  the  God  of  peace  be 
with  you  all.  Amen." 

Here  the  Apostle  declares  that  he  has  had  a  great 
desire  these  many  years  to  go  to  Rome,  but  had  been 
many  ways  hindered.  But  now  he  trusts  to  see  them 
on  his  way,  in  his  purposed  visit  to  Spain.  He  ex- 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  21 

presses  the  hope  that  after  he  shall  have  some  time 
enjoyed  their  company,  they  (some  of  them,  we  may 
suppose)  will  accompany  him  on  his  way  thither.  He 
repeats  the  assurance  that  he  will  visit  them  on  his 
way  to  Spain ;  he  feels  sure  that  he  will  come  in  the 
fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  He 
asks  their  prayers  that  he  may  he  delivered  from 
his  enemies  in  Judea,  and  reach  them,  and  be  re- 
freshed by  them.  What  is  this  but  the  courteous 
Christian  language  of  one  who  feels  that  he  has 
alike  duties  and  prerogatives  among  those  to  whom 
he  writes,  and  expects  the  welcome  and  the  atten- 
tion which  is  appropriate  from  those  by  whom  they 
are  recognized? 

Such  was  the  relation  of  St.  Paul  to  the  infant 
Church  of  Eome.  As  Home  was  mistress  of  the 
nations,  and  the  radiating  center  of  influence  and 
power  throughout  the  world,  St.  Paul  could  not  but 
s,ee  how  supremely  important  to  the  future  interests 
of  the  church  it  was  that  the  Church  of  Eome 
should  be  rightly  constituted ;  that  it  should  hold 
fast  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  and  should  exhibit 
holiness,  consistency,  and  zeal.  Hence,  in  the  midst 
of  his  overwhelming  labors,  which  had  long  hin- 
dered his  earnest  desire  to  visit  the  church  at  Rome, 
he  addressed  to  them  his  most  elaborate  Epistle. 
He  wished  to  mould  that  church  to  such  a  form  and 
animate  it  with  such  a  spirit  as  that  its  command- 
ing influence  should  be  exertecWin  behalf  of  the  pure 
Gospel  of  Christ,  unmixed  with  Pagan  or  Jewish 
errors.  "With  the  then  condition  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  with  its  practical  holiness  of  zeal,  he  seems 
to  have  been  entirely  satisfied.  He  thanks  God  that 
their  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  world.  He 

3 


22  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

not  only  wishes  to  impart  unto  them  some  spiritual 
gift,  but  he  expects  to  be  comforted  by  their  mutual 
faith.  Even  his  painstaking  confutation  of  Juda- 
izing  errors  seems  to  be  made  with  no  special  ref- 
erence to  the  peculiar  prevalence  of  such  errors  at 
Rome,  but  rather  in  view  of  their  general  dissemi- 
nation among  Jewish  converts,  and  for  purposes  of 
warning  and  instruction.  It  will  be  interesting  to 
examine  what  were  the  great  truths  which  St.  Paul 
was  so  earnest  in  impressing  upon  the  Church  of 
Rome,  just  as  it  was  assuming  an  organized  exist- 
ence, in  order  that  the  pure  and  unchangeable  Gospel 
of  Christ  might,  through  all  the  world  and  all  the 
ages,  radiate  from  that  central  seat  its  clear  and 
steady  light.  Let  us  briefly  examine  the  purport  of 
the  Epistle. 

II.  It  treats  of  many  topics,  but  its  main  argument 
is  not  difficult  to  be  discerned.  The  points  which  he 
most  wishes  to  impress  and  the  errors  which  he  is 
most  anxious  to  confute  are  clear  enough. 

He  opens  the  Epistle  with  salutations  and  bless- 
ings. He  then  proceeds  to  show  what  was  the  con- 
'  dition  of  mankind,  and  begins  with  the  pagan  world. 
1  It  is  a  dark,  awful,  but  unexaggerated  picture  which 
he  draws  of  the  pagan  character,  the  justice  of  which 
\must  have  been  abundantly  evident  to  the  Christian 
residents  at  Rome.  That  such  wickedness  cannot 
escape  the  justice  of  God,  is  his  first  conclusion. 
Then  he  turns  to  the  Jews.  He  warns  them  not  to 
boast  because  of  their  superior  privileges  over  the 
Gentiles.  Their  circumcision  cannot  save  them  if 
they  obey  not  the  law.  But  they  neither  do  nor  can 
keep  the  law.  What  follows?  "By  the  deeds  of  the 
law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  Of  what  use  was 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  23 

the  law  then  if  it  could  not  be  kept?  His  answer 
is,  "By  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin."  When 
sin  is  both  known  and  felt,  then  there  is  preparation 
for  salvation. 

From  this  point,  toward  the  conclusion  of  the 
third  chapter,  opens  his  grand  argumentation,  chiefly 
writh  the  Jew,  and  yet  incidentally  sometimes,  and 
always  by  implication,  with  the  Gentile.  THE  great 
point  and  argument  of  the  Epistle  is  this:  Neither 
the  Gentile  by  observing  the  law  of  his  natural  con- 
science, nor  the  Jew  by  observing  the  divine  law, 
can  obtain  salvation.  They  can  only  attain  to  the 
knowledge  that  it  is  unattainable,  and  that  they  are 
lost.  But  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost,  Christ  Jesus 
is  revealed.  Because  all  have  sinned  he  assumed 
the  sins  of  all,  and  died  to  atone  for  all.  God  accepts  ' 
the  atonement,  and  pardons  all  who  by  believing  can 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  become  holy.  The  Gen-  , 
tile  and  the  Jew  alike  may  believe  and  live.  The 
Jew  is  taught  that  all  the  sacrifices  of  the  law,  which 
atoned  for  ceremonial  sins,  for  the  temporal  punish- 
ment of  some  violations  of  the  moral  law,  were  in- 
tended to  point  his  faith  to  the  one  great  sacrifice, 
which  was  to  come  and  has  come,  Christ,  the  Lamb 
of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Now  it  results  from  this  statement  that  man  can- 
not be  saved  by  works  of  any  kind.  It  was  just 
because  he  could  not  be,  that  Christ  came  and  laid 
down  his  life.  Now  that  he  has  come  and  presented 
that  which  was  a  substitute  for  impossible  obedience, 
it  is  of  course  still  impossible  that  the  still  impossi- 
ble obedience  should  secure  salvation.  No  means 
remains  but  to  accept  the  salvation  which  Christ 
has  wrought.  To  accept  it  is  to  believe.  To  be- 


24  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

lieve,  in  the  Gospel  sense  of  that  expression,  is  to 
accept.  It  is  an  act  which  involves  conviction  of 
the  mind,  followed  hy  the  acquiescence  of  the  will 
and  a  conformity  of  the  conduct.  By  faith  only  is  a 
man  justified.  By  faith  without  works.  Not  even 
by  the  working  of  the  faith,  but  yet  by  the  £aith 
which  works,  and  not  by  a  faith  which  does  not 
work.  "Works  are  excluded."  And  this  is  the 
point,  salvation  by  faith,  faith  without  works,  simple 
acceptance  with  no  merit,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of 
demerit, — it  is  this  point  which  St.  Paul  strenuously 
argues  with  the  Jew.  He  could,  with  great  diffi- 
culty, believe  that  his  being  a  Jew,  and  having  the 
custody  of  the  oracles  of  God,  and  having  been  cir- 
cumcised, counted  nothing  in  the  way  of  merit  to- 
ward his  acceptance.  It  seemed  to  irk  him  that  all 
these  historical  and  divine  treasures,  and  all  his  good 
works  must  be  cast  down  when  he  came  up  to  the 
cross;  and  that  he  and  the  hated  Gentile  should 
stand  there  on  an  absolute  equality,  both  with  no- 
thing but  their  sins,  and  that  both  should  smite  upon 
their  breasts  in  penitence,  and  cry,  "  God  be  merci- 
ful to  us,  sinners,"  and  both  obtain  salvation  by  the 
faith  that  merely  accepts  with  the  consciousness  of 
dying  need,  and  not  that  one,  the  favored  Jew,  should 
obtain  it  by  the  privileges  and  works  which  buy  and 
barter  life. 

Now  it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  is  this  doctrine  which 
St.  Paul  is  supremely  anxious  to  clear  up,  and  to 
impress  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  Roman 
Christians,  both  Jew  and  Gentile.  He  gives  to  its 
illustration  and  enforcement  a  large  space.  He 
puts  his  whole  heart  into  the  argument.  His  soul 
seems  to  ache  with  anxiety  to  lodge  this  truth  in  the 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

innermost  conviction  of  the  reluctant 
tiently  follows  him  into  every  subterfuge, 
breaks  out  in  tender  concern  lest  he  should  fail  to 
receive  that  simple  truth  upon  which  his  salvation 
depends.  He  yearns  over  his  countrymen  with  in- 
expressible affection.  He  admits  and  glories  in  the 
privileges  of  the  Jew,  but  shows  that  they  were  only 
privileges  of  superior  preparation  for  the  reception 
of  this  great  truth,  this  supreme  essential  blessing 
of  salvation  by  simple  faith.  Seldom  do  we  find  so 
much  heart  in  an  argument  as  in  this.  He  guards 
it  on  all  sides,  that  their  prejudices  may  be  as  little 
as  possible  offended.  He  shows  that  salvation  is  not 
license  to  omit  obedience,  but  on  the  contrary,  the 
one  spring  and  motive  and  life  of  all  holy  obedience. 
And  thus,  when  at  the  eighth  chapter  he  feels  war- 
ranted to  announce  it  as  a  demonstrated  truth  that 
"there  is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after 
the  Spirit,"  he  expatiates  upon  the  glory  and  blessed- 
ness of  that  great  salvation,  and  upon  the  holiness, 
zeal,  and  love  which  it  awakens  in  the  penitent  and 
believing  heart.  And  then  his  kindled  soul  breaks 
forth  into  one  of  the  sublimest  utterances  in  the 
Word  of  God,  which  is  but  an  eulogy  and  an  am- 
plification, and  a  personal  and  loving  grasp  of  the 
great  truth  of  salvation  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus. 
"It  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  is  it  that  con- 
demneth?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather  that 
has  risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us.  Who 
shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ?  Shall 
tribulation  or  distress,  or  persecution  or  famine,  or 
nakedness,  or  peril  or  sword?"  "For  I  am  per- 


26  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

suaded  that  neither  death  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God  who  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

Such  was  the  great  central  truth  which  St.  Paul 
addressed  to  the  Christians  of  Rome,  as  that  which 
was  essential,  upon  which  all  other  truths  were  de- 
pendent, by  which  all  errors  were  to  be  destroyed, 
and  all  doctrines  tested. 

III.  There  are  two  points  upon  which  St.  Paul 
was  particularly  careful  to  correct  Jewish  misappre- 
hension. One  would  lead  them  to  reject  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  only;  and  the  other  to  draw 
from  it  a  mistaken  inference. 

1.  The  Jews  of  his  generation  had  become  fixed 
in  the  doctrine  of  merit  as  the  purchase  of  salvation. 
The  Pharisees  especially  were  arrogantly  self-right- 
eous. They  relied  upon  their  alms,  and  fasts,  and 
long  prayers,  and  tithes  of  mint,  anise,  and  cummin, 
for  acceptance  with  God,  even  while  living  in  neglect 
of  truth,  judgment,  and  mercy.  They  had  misin- 
terpreted that  principle  of  the  Jewish  administration 
/  which  had  affixed  temporal  blessings  to  obedience, 
land  punishment  to  rebellion.  It  had  been  designed 
to  teach  them  the  divine  law  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, only  in  part  and  in  advance  ministered  upon 
earth,  and  to  be  perfectly  administered  hereafter. 
They  learned  from  it  only  the  error  that  merit  was 
to  purchase  the  favor  of  God  in  the  future  world. 
Nor  had  they  less  grossly  misunderstood  the  institu- 
tion of  sacrifice.  It  was  designed  to  throw  their 
minds  forward  to  the  world-atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ, 
While  the  institution  was  yet  in  existence  they  had 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  27 

failed  to  see  its  meaning,  and  its  long  disuse  had  un- 
fitted them  to  welcome  the  atonement  which  fur- 
nished salvation,  as  a  full  and  free  expiation  to  the 
penitent  and  believing.  Hence,  when  told  that  this 
was  all ;  that  they  were  not  to  merit  and  work  out 
salvation ;  that  on  that  side  there  was  no  hope ;  that 
neither  by  the  works  of  the  abrogated  Jewish  law, 
nor  by  their  own  obedience  to  the  moral  law,  could 
they  find  life,  they  were  vexed,  perplexed,  con- 
founded. It  seemed  to  them  like  sending  kings  out 
to  beg.  And  this  is  the  point  which  St.  Paul  per- 
sistently labors.  "A  man  is  justified  by  faith  with- 
out the  deeds  of  the  law."  "By  the  works  of  the 
law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  These  two  proposi- 
tions St.  Paul  reiterates  in  every  variety  of  form — 
in  argument  and  exhortation,  for  comfort  to  faith, 
and  for  the  rebuke  of  self-righteousness. 

2.  Nor  did  the  Jews  fail  to  insist  that  if  we  were 
justified  by  faith  only,  without  works,  licentiousness 
would  follow,  obedience  would  be  unnecessary,  and 
holiness  superfluous.  Against  this  misapprehension 
St.  Paul  is  peculiarly  emphatic.  "Shall  we  con- 
tinue in  sin  that  grace  may  abound?  God  forbid!" 
He  labors  to  show  that  obedience  is  wrapped  up  in 
faith ;  that  its  very  manifestation  implies  death  to  sin, 
and  life  to  righteousness;  that  it  is  the  condition  of 
the  reception  of  the  Spirit's  aid,  whereby  alone  good 
works  are  wrought,  and  holiness  obtained. 

Such  are  the  teachings  of  St.  Paul,  divinely  com- 
missioned and  inspired,  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  over 
whose  faith  it  became  him  sedulously  to  watch. 
Such  were  the  doctrines  received  and  accepted  by 
the  early  Church  of  Rome. 

IY.  It  is  most  interesting  to  stand  in  the  very  city 


28  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

to  which  this  great  Epistle  was  directed,  and  to  think 
of  its  reception.  "Here,"  we  say  to  ourselves, 
"  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  the  first  Christians  of 
Rome  conversed  of  the  words  of  Paul  as  they  walked 
together,  (where  we  are  now  assembled,)  in  this,  then 
Campus  Martins,  in  the  groves,  and  walks,  and  porti- 
coes that  surrounded  the  mausoleum  of  Augustus; 
and  here  their  hearts  burned  within  them  as  they 
unfolded  to  each  other  this  newly  developed  scrip- 
ture. Here  the  Epistle  was  read  to  the  church  which 
was  wont  to  gather  in  the  house  of  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla.  Here  the  hearts  of  the  beloved  and  faithful  dis- 
ciples and  fellow-helpers  in  the  Gospel,  converts  and 
friends  of  St.  Paul,  whom  he  had  known,  and  loved, 
and  labored  with  in  different  portions  of  his  wide 
missionary  field,  were  refreshed  by  his  loving  mes- 
sages, and  animated  by  his  faithful  exhortations. 
As  the  Epistle  drew  toward  its  close,  and  weighty 
doctrine  and  earnest  exhortations  were  followed  by 
affectionate  salutations,  we  can  imagine  how,  with 
dim  eyes  and  parted  lips  and  eager  expectation,  they 
listened  for  the  paternal  and  fraternal  messages  of 
the  beloved  and  loving  Apostle.  Priscilla  and  Aquila, 
his  hospitable  hosts  in  Corinth,  helpers  in  Christ; 
well-beloved  Epsenetus,  the  first  fruits  of  Achaia; 
Mary,  who  devoted  much  labor  upon  him;  Androni- 
cus  and  Junia,  kinsmen,  and  fellow-prisoners;  be- 
loved Amplias;  Urbane,  his  helper  in  the  Lord; 
Stachys,  his  beloved;  Appelles,  well  approved;  Aris- 
tobulus,  and  his  household;  Herodian,  his  kinsman; 
the  household  of  Narcissus ;  Tryphena  and  Try- 
phosa,  laborers  in  the  Lord;  beloved  Persis,  who  la- 
bored much;  Rufus,  chosen  in  the  Lord,  and  his 
mother — and,  says  the  affectionate  Apostle,  mine; 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  29 

Asyncritus,  Phlegon,  Hermas,  Patrobas,  Hermes, 
Philologus,  Julia,  Nereas,  and  his  sister,  and  Olym- 
pas,  and  all  the  saints,  that  are  with  them."  What 
a  goodly  company  is  this,  and  how  highly  favored ! 
St.  Paul  loves  them,  blesses  them,  commands 
them !  They  were  chief  saints  of  a  church  whose  faith 
and  obedience  were  known  throughout  the  world. 
Scarcely  anything  is  known  of  any  of  them,  except 
what  is  here  recorded,  that  they  were  faithful  and  la- 
borious disciples  of  the  Saviour,  and  beloved  brethren 
of  St.  Paul. 

How  profoundly  affecting  it  is  to  think  of  this 
group,  and  their  fellow-disciples ;  a  holy  seed  of  many 
nations  and  many  stations  in  life,  in  the  midst  of 
this  then  vast,  magnilicent,  and  awfully  wicked  city, 
enjoying  temporary  peace  and  toleration,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reign  of  N~ero,  soon  to  be  followed 
by  persecution,  when  he  should  have  surrendered 
himself  to  debauchery,  cruelty,  wild  extravagance, 
and  frenzied  dissipation  !  Doubtless,  many  of  them 
were  subsequently  enrolled  in  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs.  As  St.  Paul  contemplated  them  in  their 
insecure  position,  living  and  walking  under  the 
shadow  of  that  imperial  palace  from  which  at  any 
moment  of  capricious  passion  the  mandate  might 
issue  for  their  extermination ;  and  living  near  the 
amphitheaters  and  circuses  in  which  the  clamors  of 
a  brutal  and  blood-fed  populace  might  soon  demand 
that  they  should  be  given  to  the  lions;  when  he  re- 
membered that  they  were  set  for  a  light  in  that  dark 
place,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  put  so  much  heart 
into  his  salutations,  and  so  tenderly  names  his  be- 
loved brethren  one  by  one.  No  wonder  that  his 
earnestness  is  so  fervent,  when  he  guards  them  from 

4 


30  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

error,  and  leads  them  into  truth,  and  exhorts  them 
to  duty.  He  would  have  them  strong  in  the  Lord ; 
he  would  have  their  light  shine ;  he  would  have  them 
fitted  for  the  high  position  assigned  them  of  soon 
becoming  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  churches. 
They  would  need  to  put  on  the  whole  armor  of  God. 
They  would  need  the  most  vigorous  and  heroic  spir- 
itual development.  Christian  athletes,  they  required 
to  he  fed  with  strong  meats,  and  to  he  girded  with 
power.  They  must  learn  to  comprehend,  and  live 
upon,  and  cling  to  the  most  essential  and  vital  truths ; 
and  they  must  be  taught  to  shun  the  errors  which 
would  corrupt  their  faith,  or  chill  their  love,  or  mis- 
guide their  zeal.  Such  was  the  task  before  the  Apos- 
tle. It  was  accomplished  in  his  great  Epistle.  We 
have  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  accepted  and  did 
its  work.  We  know  that  its  truths  were  reiterated 
by  St.  Clement,  called,  in  the  Roman  succession, 
the  third  Bishop  of  Rome.  We  know  what  faithful 
testimony  was  given  by  the  Roman  martyrs.  The 
Roman  Church  adopted  and  lived  upon  and  dis- 
seminated the  truths  so  earnestly  inculcated  by  St. 
Paul. 

The  Church  of  Rome  still  exists.  A  Bishop  of 
Rome  occupies  the  see  which  seems  not  to  have  been 
constituted,  or  at  least  occupied,  at  the  time  in  which 
St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle.  A  few  months  since 
N  he  proclaimed  the  sorrow  which  he  felt  at  the  palpa- 
•  ble  decay  of  faith,  the  spread  of  practical  irreligion 
and  of  speculative  infidelity,  throughout  Italy  and 
the  world.  He  addressed  to  the  faithful  animated  ex- 
hortations to  second  his  eiforts  to  win  back  the  favor 
of  God,  and  to  revive  faith  and  sanctity  in  the  minds 
of  men.  We  know,  from  St.  Paul's  Epistle,  what 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  31 

exhortations  he  would  have  addressed  to  the  saints 
in  Rome  at  such  a  crisis.  He  would  have  exhorted 
them  to  earnest  prayer  to  the  Father  through  the 
Son,  for  the  converting,  reviving,  and  sanctifying 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost*  to  he  poured  out  upon 
priests  and  people.  He  would  have  reminded  them 
of  their  high  privileges  as  the  freely  forgiven  chil- 
dren of  God,  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus;  and  of  the 
obligation,  through  the  constraining  love  of  Christ, 
to  live  holily  and  unhlamahly,  and  in  a  spirit  of 
true  consecration  to  God,  and  love  to  man.  "Were 
these,  or  similar  exhortations,  addressed  by  the' 
Bishop  of  Borne  to  the  saints  that  are  in  Rome?' 
Not  these,  but  other  exhortations  were  employed.) 
They  were  enjoined  with  their  presence  and  faith 
and  prayer  to  attend  a  spectacle,  for  healing  the 
evils  of  the  times  and  propitiating  the  favor  of 
Heaven.  A  picture  of  the  Saviour  would  be  carried 
by  Pope  and  cardinals,  priests  and  monks,  with  ban- 
ner and  music  and  incense  and  the  pornp  of  gilded 
vestments,  from  the  Basilica  of  St.  John  Lateran  to 
that  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore.  It  was  this  picture 
in  which  the  hope  of  the  restoration  of  faith  and 
holiness  seemed  to  be  reposed.  It  was  said  to 
have  been  outlined  by  St.  Luke,  for  the  Virgin 
Mary,  three  days  after  Christ's  ascension;  to  have 
been  miraculously  colored  in  the  night;  to  have 
been  carried  during  the  siege  of  Titus  to  Pella 
and  subsequently  to  Constantinople;  to  have  been 
taken  away  in  the  seventh  century  by  the  per- 
secuted Bishop  of  Constantinople,  and  consigned 
to  the  sea,  over  which  it  passed,  in  a  perpendicu- 
lar position,  to  Ostia,  in  twenty-four  hours,  when, 
seeing  the  Pope  ready  to  receive  it  upon  shore,  it 


32  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

/rose  and  placed  itself  in  his  hands.  The  Bishop  of 
1  Rome's  method  of  reviving  faith  and  religion  was 
1  the  transfer  of  this  picture  from  the  Basilica  of  St. 
1  John  Lateran  to  that  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore.  It 
;  evidently  differs  from  the  method  which  would  have 
j  been  adopted  hy  St.  Paul.  He  knew  of  no  such 
means  of  grace.* 

And  the  tokens  of  divine  favor  which  have  followed 
this  act  of  faith  are  also  of  such  a  kind  as  would  not 
have  been  appreciated  by  St.  Paul.  In  the  little 
town  of  Yico  Yaro,  in  the  Sabine  Mountains,  in  a 
miniature  chapel,  I  saw,  last  spring,  a  picture  of  the 
Virgin  Mary.  It  seems  that  this  picture  has  for  some 
months  been  in  the  habit  of  rolling  up  its  eyes,  and 
changing  perceptibly  its  color,  f  This  is  received  as 
evidence  that  the  Virgin  Mary  has  heard  the  sup- 
plications of  the  faithful,  and  that  she  will  intercede 
with  her  Son  to  intercede  with  the  Father  to  avert 
the  evils  which  threaten  the  Church  of  Rome  and 
the  world,  and  to  bestow  upon  them  anew  his  bless- 
ing. Another  picture  in  the  same  region  makes  the 
same  miraculous  manifestations.  Homage  to  a  pic- 

*  All  the  statements  above  mentioned,  elaborately  and  diffusely 
narrated,  are  found  in  a  printed  document,  scattered  all  over  Rome 
at  the  time  of  the  exposition  of  the  picture,  entitled  "Origine  della 
S.  Imagine,"  and  concluding  with  the  words,  "Con  permesso."  The 
crowds  who  attended  its  transfer  and  its  exposition  were  immense. 
During  the  last  days  the  press  of  people  toward  the  picture,  with 
rosaries,  crosses,  jewels,  handkerchiefs,  books,  and  other  articles, 
kept  two  priests  constantly  employed  in  touching  them  to  the  glass 
in  front,  by  which  a  miraculous  virtue  was  supposed  to  be  imparted 
to  them;  and  the  Swiss  guard  could  with  difficulty  keep  the  crowd 
back  from  the  altar.  The  exposition  continued  from  the  6th  to  the 
13th  of  September.  (1862.) 

•J-  The  eyes  are  not  only  rolled  up  and  down,  but  sometimes  move 
sideways,  and  occasionally  the  eyelashes  also  move. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  83 

ture  of  the  Saviour,  painted  by  St.  Luke,  to  act  as 
the  effectual  prayer;  and  pictures  of  the  Madonna, 
that  roll  their  eyes  up  and  down,  and  occasionally 
sideways,  with  a  movement  of  the  eyelids,  as  answers 
to  the  prayer, — this  is  the  method  of  seeking  and 
proclaiming  spiritual  blessing  adopted  by  the  pres- 
ent Church  of  Rome.  It  was  a  method  evidently 
unknown  to  St.  Paul.* 

In  view  of  these  new  methods  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  ask  if  the  truths 
which  St.  Paul  so  earnestly  labored  to  implant  have 
lived  and  thriven  and  borne  holy  fruits  where  they 
were  so  early  introduced ?  Alas!  there  is  not  one 
of  them  which  the  Church  of  Rome  accepts.  There 
is  not  one  of  them  which  she  does  not  reject.  Jus- 
tification by  faith  only,  over  wrhich  holy  Paul  lifted  /  x 
a  glowing  anthem,  Rome  visits  with  anathema.  J 
How  is  it  with  the  errors  against  which  St.  Paul  so 
strenuously  labored?  Rome  adopts  them.  She 
preaches  the  merit  which  Paul  denounced.  And 
what  in  the  place  of  Paul's  fundamentals  are  hers? 
Dogmas  of  which  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  trace 
in  his  Epistle.  The  supremacy  of  St.  Peter  and  his 
Yicarate  of  Christ,  Tran substantiation,  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  of  the  Virgin,  and— but  why  should 
I  name  them?  Of  all  these  fundamental  dogmas, 
we  find  in  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul,  intended  to  be 
the  chart  and  guide  of  the  Church  of  Rome  through 
all  time,  that  there  is  not  a  word — not  a  word! 
Simply  to  state  such  a  fact  is  mbre  impressive  than 

*  It  is  a  significant  comment  on  this  miracle,  that  the  vicar  of  the 
parish  at  Vico  Varo,  who  wrote  glowing  accounts  of  this  miraculous 
manifestation,  has  since  absconded  with  all  the  offerings  of  the 
faithful. 


34  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

eb  could  be  made  by  the  most  mournful  and  impas- 
ioned  declamation. 

There  has  recently  been  found  beneath  the  Church 
of  San  Clemente,  a  larger  and  nobler  edifice,  upon 
which  the  present  edifice,  much  less  homogeneous 
and  complete  than  the  former,  has  been   erected. 
That  original  church,  itself  founded  on  the  ruins  of 
/  pagan  structures,  was  filled  up  with  rubbish,  and  so 
I  completely  hidden  from  view,  that  its  existence  was 
Minknown  for  ages.    The  descriptions  of  the  original 
edifice  have  been  misappropriated  to  the  second  and 
meaner  structure.     It  is  now  in  the  process  of  exca- 
vation, and  as  one  pillar  after  another  of  precious 
and  polished  marble  is  disclosed,  its  superiority  has 
become  more  and  more  apparent.     And  so  under 
the  present  Church  of  Rome,  there  lies  buried  and 
filled  with  superstitious  rubbish  and  forgotten  for 
/ages,  a  nobler  and  purer  church,  the  church  of  St. 
\Paul  and  of  Clement.     But  instead  of  uncovering 
to  the  light  its  walls,  which  are  salvation,  and  its 
gates,  which   are  praise,  instead  of  disclosing  its 
pure  altars  and  its  polished  pillars,  Rome  piles  new 
rubbish  on,  and  packs  it  down,  and  does  not  permit 
her  children  even  to  know  of  its  existence. 

But  these  blessed  truths,  repudiated  by  the  false 
Church  of  Rome,  are  still  the  heritage  of  the  churches ; 
and  because  she,  to  whom  was  committed  the  pre- 
cious deposit,  was  faithless  to  her  trust,  it  becomes 
them  to  cling  with  warmer  loyalty  and  love  to  that 
which,  while  it  is  Gospel,  is  to  fallen  man  the  most 
effective  law.  "Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God."  "Faith  worketh  by  love." 

In  these  scenes  and  with  these  memories  we  will 
cling  to  them  and  love  them  as  we  have  never  done 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  85 

before.  We  pass  over  the  intervening  ages.  We 
gather  with  the  disciples  who  are  assembled  to  hear 
St.  Paul's  Epistle.  Its  precious  truths  sink  into  our 
hearts;  and,  oh!  how  we  need  its  divine  conclu- 
sion, in  the  midst  of  this  groaning  and  travailing 
creation,  in  the  midst  of  the  tumults  of  the  world 
and  the  sorrows  of  the  churches!  "Being  justified 
by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God" 


UNIVERSITY 


LECTURE   II. 

THE    CIRCUMSTANCES   WHICH    PRECEDED    ST.  PAUL'S 
JOURNEY  TO  ROME. 

And  the  night  following,  the  Lord  stood  by  him,  and  said :  Be  of 
good  cheer,  Paul,  for  as  thou  hast  testified  of  me  at  Jerusalem,  so 
must  thou  bear  witness  also  at  Rome. — ACTS,  xxiii.  11. 

WHEN  the  devout  Christian  visits  Rome,  his  first 
thought  is  not  of  Romulus,  Caesar,  or  Augustus,  of 
Gregory,  or  of  Leo,  hut  of  Paul.  Here  he  was 
"brought  in  bonds.  Here  he  lived  two  years.  Here 
he  conferred  with  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Here  he  wrote 
some  of  his  most  precious  epistles.  Here  devoted 
Christian  brethren  and  friends  gathered  about  him; 
and  in  his  hired  house,  (near  where  we  now  worship,) 
what  luminous  expositions  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus;  what  fitting  in  of  fact  with  prophecy;  what 
demonstrated  correspondence  between  the  type  and 
the  reality;  what  earnest  prayer ;  what  joyful  praise; 
what  loving  intercession;  what  affectionate  fellow- 
ship; what  peaceable  wisdom;  what  heroic  zeal! 

How  the  Church  of  Rome  originated  does  not  ap- 
pear. The  Apostolic  history  does  not  designate  its 
founder.  Had  it  been  an  Apostle,  we  can  scarcely 
^doubt  that  the  fact  would  have  been  recorded.  It 
probably  originated  with  some  of  the  disciples  scat- 
,tered  abroad,  after  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen. 
"They  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word."  (Acts, 
vii.  4.)  Though  originating  with  Jewish  converts, 
(36) 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  37 

it  had  already  acquired  a  preponderance  of  the  Gen- 
tile element  when  St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle  to 
the  Romans.  He  claims  the  right  to  address  them 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  the  Apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.  The  names  of  the  Christian  friends  and  breth- 
ren whom  St.  Paul  salutes  at  the  end  of  his  Epistle 
are  largely  Greek  and  Roman. 

St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was  written  at 
Corinth,  and  sent  by  Phsebe,  a  deaconess  of  the 
church  at  Cenchrea,  adjoining  that  city.  In  it  he  as- 
sures them  that  after  he  shall  have  gone  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, to  distribute  to  the  poor  saints  there  the  con- 
tributions of  their  wealthier  brethren  in  Macedonia 
and  Achaia,  he  would  visit  the  disciples  at  Rome. 
Anxious  as  he  was  to  see  the  brethren  at  Rome,  and 
confer  with,  and  properly  to  constitute  and  regulate 
a  church,  whose  influence  at  the  political  center  of 
the  world  would  be  immense,  he  must  yet  first  see 
his  poor  disciples  at  Jerusalem ;  he  must  himself  pre- 
sent to  them  the  gifts  of  their  brethren,  and  increase 
their  grateful  joy;  he  must  tell  them  how  fully  and 
freely  Christian  love  poured  forth  those  gifts;  he 
must  be  a  partaker  of  their  holy  joy;  he  must  en- 
deavor to  correct  their  growing  errors  of  doctrine 
and  misapprehension  concerning  his  own  character, 
purposes,  and  views. 

We  have  spoken  of  St.  Paul's  purposed  journeyi 
to  Rome.  He  went  at  length,  not  as  a  free  apostle,  ( 
but  as  a  chained  captive.  The  story,  as  recorded  in  I 
the  latter  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  is  one  j 
of  exceeding  interest. 

The  church  in  Jerusalem  was  in  a  transition  state. 
The  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies  were  continued 
at  the  Temple  at  the  same  time  that  the  church, 

5 


88  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

which  was  to  supersede  them,  was  established  by  its 
side.  Christ  had  declared  that  he  came  not  to  de- 
stroy the  law  but  to  fulfill.  The  true  meaning  of 
this  declaration  many  of  the  Jewish  Christians  failed 
/to  apprehend.  They  did  not  see  that  in  fulfilling, 
^  Christianity  superseded  Judaism ;  that  it  completed 
fc<^  ( it  by  merging  it  into  itself;  that  it  was  the  plant  which 
/  of  necessity  absorbed  the  seed  from  which  it  sprung. 
They  supposed  that  Judaism  was  to  remain  entire, 
and  that  as  Moses  inaugurated  it,  and  David  strength- 
ened it,  and  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  and 
all  the  prophets  illustrated  and  explained  it,  and 
foretold  its  glories,  so  Christ  was  to  complete  it,  and 
place  it  on  immovable  foundations,  and  fill  out  the 
types  of  Moses,  and  the  glowing  delineations  of  the 
prophets.  Consolidated  and  completed  Judaism, 
seated  upon  a  throne,  and  crowned  with  power  by  a 
conquering  Messiah, — that  was  their  faith  and  hope. 
Slowly  and  reluctantly  were  their  minds  drawn  from 
these  carnal  views.  Many  of  them  still  clung  to 
Jewish  customs.  They  would  retain  circumcision, 
and  many  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  law. 

Now  St.  Paul,  in  his  large  and  loving  wisdom, 
dealt  gently  with  these  half  emancipated  minds. 
"While  he  proclaimed  the  utter  freedom  of  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ,  and  the  necessity  of  reliance  only 
on  his  work  for  pardon,  grace,  and  life,  he  would  yet 
not  rudely  tear  away  the  tendrils  of  affection  and 
association  from  the  Jewish  institutes,  but  would 
wait  until,  of  their  own  spiritual  aifinity,  they  should 
all  be  untwined  and  disengaged,  and  gently  swayed 
toward  the  cross.  Yet  St.  Paul  was  disliked  by 
the  less  advanced  of  the  Jewish  .converts,  because  he 
only  tolerated  for  the  present,  and  did  not  enjoin  per- 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  39 

manent  adhesion  to  some  of  the  ceremonies  of  the 
law;  and  they  falsely  represented  him  as  an  enemy 
who  reviled  customs  which  were  at  least  venerable, 
even  if  they  had  ceased  to  be  obligatory. 

St.  Paul  came  to  Jerusalem  in  part  to  refute 
these  accusations.  He  was  well  received.  "When 
we  came  to  Jerusalem,  the  brethren  received  us 
gladly."  (Acts,  xxi.  17.)  The  next  day  the  elders 
of  the  church,  called  together  by  James  and  Paul, 
"  declared  particularly  what  things  God  had  wrought 
among  the  Gentiles  by  his  ministry"  (Acts,  xxi.  19) 
since  he  parted  from  Jerusalem  four  years  before. 
When  they  heard  it,  "they  glorified  the  Lord."  (v. 
20.)  And,  as  we  may  suppose,  after  such  a  recep- 
tion, from  kindness  to  him,  they  reminded  him  that 
thousands  of  the  Jews  who  believed  were  still  zeal- 
ous of  the  law,  (v.  20 ;)  that  they  had  been  made  to 
believe  that  he  went  about  teaching  the  Jews  to  for- 
sake Moses,  and  abandon  circumcision  and  the  cus- 
toms, (v.  21.)  They  told  him  that  his  coming  would 
soon  be  known,  and  intimated  that  crowds  would 
gather  and  violent  excitements  would  arise,  (v.  22.) 
Hence,  as  there  were  with  them  at  that  time  four 
Jewish  Christians  who  were  under  the  Kazan  tic  vow, 
they  advised  St.  Paul  to  go  with  them  to  the 
Temple,  and  pay  the  expenses  attendant  upon  the 
completion  of  the  ceremonies  and  the  vow.  (v.  23, 
24.) 

The  regulations  of  the  Nazaritic  vow  are  found  in 
the  Book  of  Numbers.  (Num.  vi.  2-5.)  A  Jew  de- 
livered from  peril,  or  desiring  to  testify  in  public  a 
peculiarly  solemn  consecration  to  God,  took  upon 
himself  this  vow.  During  the  period  which  it  em- 
braced, which  was  sometimes  for  life  and  sometimes 


40  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

for  a  few  months  only,  he  was  to  drink  no  wine,  and 
;  to  leave  his  hair  uncut.  At  the  termination  of  the 
j  period,  he  was  to  resort  to  the  Temple  with  offerings, 
and  the  hair  of  his  head  and  beard  was  there  shorn, 
and  cast  upon  the  altar.  This  was  one  of  the  "cus- 
toms" which  the  Jews,  who  were  zealous  for  the  law, 
retained.  While,  however,  St.  Paul's  friends  ad- 
vised him  to  go  with  these  men,  and  to  pay  their 
charges,  they  assured  him  that  they  did  not  intend 
to  impose  these  customs  upon  the  Gentiles,  "for," 
they  added,  "as  touching  the  Gentiles  who  believed, 
we  have  written  that  they  observe  no  such  thing, 
save  only  that  they  keep  themselves  from  things  of- 
fered unto  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from  strangled, 
and  from  fornication."  (Acts,  xxi.  25.) 

St.  Paul  readily  consented.  Was  it  from  fear 
or  for  favor?  Was  it  against  his  principles?  Not 
at  all!  It  was  in  precise  harmony  with  those  prin- 
ciples of  broad  and  loving  toleration  which  he  had 
so  beautifully  unfolded  in  the  closing  chapters  of  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Chanty  was  the  supreme  law. 
For  its  sake,  and  in  matters  indifferent,  he  would  be 
a  Jew  with  Jews,  and  a  Greek  with  Greeks.  For 
peace  and  love  he  circumcised  Timothy,  because  he 
was  the  son  of  a  Jewess.  He  was  free  alike  from 
superstitious  repugnance  to  ceremonies,  and  super- 
stitious adherence  to  them.  His  doctrine  left  him 
equally  at  liberty  to  practice  or  forsake  those  that 
were  innocent,  and  not  of  present  divine  obligation. 
If  one  enjoined  them  on  him  as  essential,  he  would 
not  admit  them  for  a  moment;  if  one  clung  to  them 
in  doubt,  or  from  old  affection,  or  from  a  conviction 
that  they  were  edifying  if  not  obligatory,  he  allowed 
them,  and  joined  in  them.  Nay,  if  one  still  prac- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  41 

ticed  them  because  he  believed  them  to  be  essential, 
he  would  even  then  tolerate  them,  while  he  endeav- 
ored to  extricate  him  from  bondage  to  ordinances. 
"Neither  circumcision  availeth  anything  nor  uncir- 
cumcision,  but  a  new  creature."  (Gal.  vi.  15.)  This 
was  his  great  principle. 

How  wise,  how  grand,  how  sublimely  simple  it  is ! 
Yet  how  many  persons  utterly  fail  to  comprehend  it ! 
How  slowly  have  Christians  worked  their  way  out  of 
the  spirit  of  Judaism  into  the  self-restraining  free- 
dom wherewith  Christ  has  made  his  people  free! 
How  soon  did  they  again  lapse  into  essential  Juda- 
ism !  We  should  not  wonder  that  Christianity  should 
have  first  appeared  at  Jerusalem  with  this  Jewish 
stamp  upon  it.  The  lines  and  marks  of  the  grub 
are  impressed  upon  the  back  of  the  butterfly  when 
he  breaks  from  it  and  spreads  his  wings  and  flies ! 
Let  us  wonder  rather  that  the  freed  and  bright  child 
of  the  sunshine  should  fold  his  winers  and  crowd 

O 

himself  back  into  the  dry  shell  from  which  he  had 
broken!  Let  us  wonder  that  Christianity,  once 
emancipated  from  bondage,  should  submit  to  it 
again !  Let  us  wonder  that  the  Roman  Church,  which  ! 
St.  Paul  praised,  should  be  the  church  of  to-day ! 
But  why  wonder  at  all,  when  we  remember  that  the 
spirit  of  all  delusion  is  not  yet  locked  up  in  the  pit, 
but  is  at  large,  and  that  man  is  ever  spiritually 
stupid?  Only  "great  grace,"  and  simple  faith,  and 
ardent  love  can  retain  churches  and  individuals  in 
this  high  temper.  It  can  be  reached  by  the  lowliest 
through  the  enlightenment  of  love.  It  will  be  missed 
by  the  loftiest  without  it.  In  our  day  we  will  still 
hear  one  denomination  of  Christians,  or  one  style  of 
Christian  character  among  all  denominations,  say- 


42  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

ing:  "This  observance  is  essential,  and  without  it 
the  foundation  will  be  overthrown,  and  then  what 
will  the  righteous  do?"  Another  replies:  "Kay, 
without  the  overthrow  of  that  form,  and  adherence 
to  this  essential  dogma,  there  can  be  no  spiritual  life." 
Even  now,  the  rarest  of  all  styles  of  Christian  char- 
acter is  that  so  beautifully  portrayed  by  holy,  lofty 
Paul.  We  often  find  high  devotional  fervor — and 
not  this !  We  hear  seraphic  preaching — and  not  this ! 
We  meet  with  burning  zeal — and  not  this!  It  is  the 
last  lesson  which  the  ripest  Christian  learns ;  which 
many  holy  men  never  learn,  and  the  fierce  denial  of 
which  constitutes  the  first  dogma  of  churches,  which 
include  more  than  half  the  Christians  of  the  world! 

St.  Paul's  ready  compliance  with  the  advice  of 
the  council  must  have  silenced  those  who  were  op- 
posed to  him  on  the  ground  of  his  hostility  to  the 
national  worship.  But  some  Jews  from  Ephesus, 
enraged  because  in  that  city  he  had  defeated  their 
arguments  in  the  Synagogue,  and  had  built  up  there 
a  powerful  church  of  converted  Jews,  seized  this  un- 
expected opportunity  of  revenge.  When  they  saw 
him  in  the  Temple,  "they  laid  hands  on  him, 
crying  out,  Men  of  Israel,  help !  This  is  the  man 
that  teacheth  all  men  everywhere,  against  the  people 
and  the  law,  and  this  place;  and  further,  brought 
Greeks  also  into  the  Temple,  and  hath  polluted  this 
holy  place."  (Acts,  xxi.  27,  28.)  A  violent  tumult 
.arose.  A  vast  multitude  hurried  to  the  Temple. 
(They  were  filled  with  horror  at  the  alleged  profana- 
tion of  the  holy  place.  They  dragged  him  from  the 
inner  court  into  the  court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  closed 
jthe  gates,  and  were  about  to  kill  him. 

But  the  design  was  suddenly  arrested.     The  Eo- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    EOME.  43 

man  garrison  in  the  neighboring  tower  of  Antonia, 
whose  sentinels  could  overlook  the  open  court  of  the 
Gentiles,  was  at  once  roused.  Claudius  Lysias,  the 
commandant  of  the  garrison,  hearing  that  all  Jeru- 
salem was  in  an  uproar,  hastened  to  the  scene  with 
centurions  and  soldiers.  As  the  veterans  marched 
into  the  court  with  flashing  arms  and  steady  tramp, 
the  fanatical  mob  recognized  their  masters,  and 
"left  off  beating  of  Paul."  Lysias  took  him  and 
bound  him  with  two  chains,  and  inquired  who  he 
was,  and  what  he  had  done.  "  Some  cried  one  thing 
and  some  another."  Unable  to  ascertain  the  truth, 
because  of  the  tumult  and  confusion,  he  took  him 
into  the  tower  of  Antonia.  So  violent  was  the  crowd 
that  St.  Paul  was  borne  up  the  stairs  by  the  press- 
ure of  the  multitude,  amid  the  cries,  "  Away  with 
him !" 

Then  St.  Paul,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  turned 
to  the  commanding  officer  and  said  in  Greek,'"  May 
I  speak  with  thee?"     Lysias,  who  had  hitherto  sup- 
posed that  he  was  an  Egyptian  ringleader  of  a  late 
rebellion,  was  startled  to  hear  him  speak  Greek,  and 
yielded  to  his  request  that  he  might   address  the 
people.     Strange,  that  by  a  gesture  of  the  hand  he  j 
should  have  secured  at  first  "great  silence"  in  that  i 
wild,  heaving,  tumultuous  crowd.    Less  strange  that! 
the  silence  should  have  continued  when  they  per-J 
ceived  that  he  spoke  in  the  Hebrew  tongue.  (Acts, 
xxi.  31-40.) 

His  speech  was  as  conciliatory  as  fidelity  to  his 
Master  would  permit.  (Acts,  xxii.  1-21.)  He  told 
them  that  he  was  a  Jew  and  a  scholar  of  the  famous 
Gamaliel.  But  Christ  had  appeared  to  him  in  a 
miraculous  manifestation.  He  was  struck  down 


44  ST.  PAUL    IN    EOME. 

when  he  was  on  his  way  to  Damascus  to  persecute 
the  followers  of  Christ.  He  arose  convinced  and 
converted;  and  was  subsequently  bidden  to  go  and 
preach  to  the  Gentiles. 

Then  Jewish  fanaticism  flashed  forth.  A  child  of 
Abraham  degrading  himself  by  becoming  a  messen- 
ger to  uncircumcised  Gentiles,  and  blasphemously 
professing  to  call  them  to  higher  privileges  than 
those  of  God's  chosen  people!  This  touched  them 
to  the  quick.  It  was  a  provocation  and  an  insult 
not  to  be  borne.  They  were  wrought  up  to  a  frenzy 
of  indignation,  and  cried,  "Away  with  this  fellow 
from  the  earth,  for  it  is  not  fit  that  he  should  live." 
(Acts,  xxii.  22.)  They  rent  their  clothes,  and  in 
their  wild  Eastern  way  threw  dust  into  the  air.  The 
spell  of  Paul's  speech  was  broken.  The  chief  cap- 
tain, not  understanding  their  clamors,  would  have 
had  him  examined  by  scourging,  and  his  body  was 
even  stretched  out  to  receive  the  lashes,  (v.  25,)  but 
when  he  claimed  exemption  as  a  Roman  citizen, 
Lysias  became  alarmed  that  he  had  even  bound  him. 
(v.  29.) 

On  the  morrow  the  scene  was  changed.  Lysias 
summoned  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim  with  the  High 
Priest,  that  he  might  learn  from  them  the  nature  of 
Paul's  offense.  Paul  arraigned  before  the  Sanhe- 
drim of  which  he  had  been  a  member  when  St. 
Stephen  was  condemned !  How  that  hour  and  scene 
must  have  returned  to  him  as  he  stood  arraigned 
before  those  with  whom  he  had  once  sat  as  judge! 
I^ow  he  understood  St.  Stephen's  holy  calm;  his 
unflinching  yet  humble  fortitude ;  for  it  was  in  his 
own  soul.  "Earnestly  beholding"  the  council,  look- 
ing steadily,  sorrowfully,  and  yearningly,  we  may 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  45 

well  suppose,  at  brethren,  many  of  whom  had  been 
personal  friends,  whose  false  and  fiery  zeal  he  had 
so  lately  shared,  he  began  by  declaring:  "Men  and 
brethren,  I  have  lived  in  all  good  conscience  before 
God  unto  this  day."  (Acts,  xxiii.  1.)  The  High 
Priest,  Ananias,  enraged  that  he  should  claim  this 
honest  conscience,  ordered  those  who  stood  by  him 
to  smite  him  upon  the  mouth.  "God  shall  smite 
thee,  thou  whited  wall !"  was  the  Apostle's  indignant 
rejoinder  to  the  unprovoked  brutality.  He  expressed 
his  regret,  however,  when  he  ascertained  that  the 
insult  came  from  the  High  Priest;  "Seeing  it  is 
written,  thou  shalt  not  speak  evil  of  the  ruler  of  thy 
people."  (Acts,  xxiii.  5.)  The  incident  shows  the 
singular  balance  of  St.  Paul's  character  and  conduct 
even  in  such  a  trying  scene.  As  a  man  the  author 
of  such  an  outrage  deserved  rebuke.  As  God's 
High  Priest  the  law  enjoined  reverence  and  submis- 
sion to  him.  In  that  moment  of  high  excitement, 
Paul  could  remember  the  injunction  and  was  so  far 
removed  from  the  impulse  of  mere  human  indigna- 
tion that  he  could  make  the  apology,  which,  if  he 
had  yielded  to  pride  alone,  would  have  been  with- 
held. But  the  words  which  had  thus  escaped  from 
him  in  indignation  proved  to  be  a  prophecy.  God 
did  smite  Ananias.  He  was  murdered  by  Jews  more  j 
fiercely  fanatical  than  himself — the  Sicarrii,  or  dag-  J 
ger  assassins  of  the  Jewish  war. 

The  Apostle  from  the  commencement  saw  that 
there  was  as  little  hope  for  him  as  there  had  been 
for  St.  Stephen,  in  the  justice  or  moderation  of  his 
judges.  He  therefore  sought  safety  by  enlisting  on 
his  side  one  of  the  parties  into  which  the  Sanhedrim 

6 


46  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

was  divided.  He  adroitly  proclaimed  himself  a 
Pharisee,  and  the  son  of  a  Pharisee.  "For  the 
hope  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,"  he  cried, 
"am  I  to  be  judged  this  day."  (Acts,  xxiii.  6.)  In  this 
one  doctrine  he  knew  that  he  should  have  the  Phari- 
sees on  his  side.  A  dissension  arose  among  them. 
There  was  a  temporary  diversion  in  his  favor.  "  The 
Pharisees  arose  and  strove,  saying,  We  find  no  evil 
in  this  man ;  but  if  a  spirit  or  an  angel  have  spoken 
unto  him,  let  us  not  fight  against  God."  (v.  9.)  A 
great  dissension  arose.  Lysias  feared  that  St.  Paul 
would  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  doctors  as  he  had  be- 
fore feared  that  he  would  be  killed  by  the  mob. 
Fanaticism  is  a  mighty  leveler.  The  doctors  of  the 
Sanhedrim  became  as  savage  under  its  sway  as  the 
rabble  of  the  streets.  The  learned  and  eloquent 
Legislative  Assembly  of  France,  howling  like 
demons,  and  the  tumultuous  Jacobin  Club,  and  the 
sanguinary  Club  of  the  Cordeliers,  and  the  fero- 
cious human  wolves  of  St.  Antoine, — what  was 
there  to  choose  between  them  ?  As  loving  zeal  lifts 
the  lowly  to  the  high  plane  of  angelic  life,  so  does 
malignant  zeal  sink  the  lofty  to  the  level  of  the 
fiend. 

But  night  and  silence  came.  A  prisoner  in  the 
Roman  barracks,  with  no  human  sympathy  near, 
and  conscious  that  he  was  surrounded  by  the  fana- 
tical and  infuriated  hate  of  the  population  of  a 
great  city  who  thirsted  for  his  blood,  what  were  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  St.  Paul?  We  know  not; 
but  from  our  knowledge  of  his  susceptibility  to  af- 
fection, we  infer  a  corresponding  sensibility  to  hate; 
from  his  ardent  love  to  his  countrymen  we  cannot 
but  conclude  that  their  bitter  malignity  pierced 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  47 

his  heart  with  the  keenest  anguish.  We  know, 
moreover,  that  when  an  angel  came  to  comfort 
Jesus  it  was  in  the  hour  of  his  extremest  agony  in 
the  garden.  And  now  the  gracious  Master,  who 
then  needed  an  angel  to  strengthen  him, — a  com- 
passionate High  Priest,  touched  with  a  feeling  of 
the  infirmities  of  his  faithful  apostle, — stood  by 
him  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and  said  to  him, 
"Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul,  for  as  thou  hast  testi- 
fied of  me  at  Jerusalem,  so  also  must  thou  testify 
of  me  at  Rome."  (v.  11.)  It  was  enough;  the 
Lord  stood  by  him.  Then  must  he  have  remem- 
bered that  he  who  was  for  him  was  greater  than 
all  who  could  be  against  him.  To  one  who  should 
have  looked  upon  him,  as  exhausted  with  ex- 
citement and  fatigue,  he  stretched  himself  on  the 
cold  stone  floor  of  the  barracks,  with  a  soldier 
guarding  him,  with  frenzied  fanatical  wrath  waiting 
only  for  the  dawn  for  his  destruction,  after  a  day  in 
which  he  had  been  rescued  from  the  wrath  of  the 
mob  only  to  be  exposed  to  the  equally  deadly  wrath 
of  the  Sanhedrim, — to  one  who  should  have  perceived 
only  these  circumstances  of  his  position,  how  piti- 
able would  the  fate  of  the  Apostle  have  seemed! 
But  who  among  all  the  then  inhabitants  .or  sojourn- 
ers  in  Jerusalem  was  so  truly  to  be  envied  as  St. 
Paul?  The  Lord,  the  Creator  of  the  worlds,  the 
redeemer  of  sinners,  the  ascended  and  crowned 
Saviour,  the  Lord  stood  by  him  and  said,  "Paul,  be 
of  good  cheer."  It  was  the  Master's  approval,  after 
a  faithful,  and  because  faithful,  triumphant  struggle 
against  the  powers  of  darkness. 

But  how  singular  the  grounds  on  which  the  Lord 
bade  Paul  be  of  good  cheer !    He  gave  him  no  assu- 


48  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

ranee  that  his  troubles  would  come  to  a  speedy  end. 
He  did  not  promise  that  he  should  overcome  his 
enemies.  He  simply  assured  him  that  as  he  had 
been  faithful  at  Jerusalem,  he  should  have  the  priv- 
ilege of  testifying  of  him  at  Rome.  He  did  not 
even  foretell  large  results  from  his  testimony.  And 
for  this  he  was  to  be  of  good  cheer !  To  have  the 
privilege  of  testifying  for  the  Master  is  then  one  of 
the  high  privileges  of  the  ministers  and  people  of 
God,  whether  men  will  hear  or  whether  they  will 
forbear.  And  this  is  indeed  the  great  vocation  ot 
the  church.  It  is  a  light  in  a  dark  place.  It  is  a 
voice  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Even  unto  the  end 
this  is  to  be  its  essential  character;  for  the  Gospel 
is  to  be  preached  for  a  witness  to  all  nations  before 
the  end  shall  come.  And  it  is  even  to  rejoice  in 
giving  testimony  to  Christ  and  his  Gospel.  To 
speak,  in  a  world  of  hates,  of  so  much  love;  in  a 
world  of  sins,  of  so  much  purity ;  in  a  world  of  sor- 
rows, of  so  much  consolation;  in.  a  world  of  false- 
hood, of  one  so  true ;  in  a  world  of  the  condemned, 
of  one  who  is  so  great  a  redeemer;  in  a  world  that 
vanishes  with  all  its  poor  joys,  of  one  who  opens 
a  world  that  is  eternal,  and  joys  that  never  fade! 
Oh !  let  us  ever,  with  full  hearts  and  faithful  speech 
and  holy  living,  give  testimony  to  the.  Saviour.  In 
society,  in  the  family,  in  the  world  of  business, 
let  us  all  testify  of  Jesus  that  he  is  the  Son  of 
God;  that  life,  and  grace,  and  pardon,  and  salvation, 
and  peace,  and  power, — all  that  is  good  in  the  life 
that  is,  and  all  that  gives  sure  hope  for  the  life  that 
is  to  come, — are  to  be  found  nowhere  but  in  Him. 
Simply  to  testify  for  him  is  the  highest  privilege, 
even  though  it  be  in  peril  and  persecution ;  for  this 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  49 

was  the  consolation  which  Jesus  gave  to  Paul  in  his 
sorest  need.  Let  us  not  doubt  that  he  felt  the  joy 
of  it  when,  a  few  days  after,  before  Festus  and 
Agrippa,  he  uttered  his  noble  testimony  for  his  Mas- 
ter, and  experienced  a  loftier  pleasure  than  Csesar 
ever  knew. 

The  consolation  was  needed,  for  Jewish  malignity  \ 
was  awake  with  the  early  dawn;  and  forty  of  his  I 
enemies  had  bound  themselves  with  a  curse  that  they  I 
would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they  had  slain  him. 
Such  an  extraordinary  vow,  so  suddenly  taken  by 
such  a  number,  measured  the  wide-spread  and  dread- 
ful fanaticism  of  hatred  to  which  Paul  was  exposed. 
*Et  was  in  vain  to  think  of  turning  it  aside.     Their 
plan  was  to  induce  the  council  to  have  Paul  remanded 
for  further  examination,  and  then  to  spring  upon  him 
suddenly  and  kill  him  before  the  guard  could  rally 
in  his  defense. 

The  plan  was  defeated.     Paul's  sister's  son  heard 
of  the  conspiracy,  and  immediately  resorted  to  the 
castle  to  advise  him  of  the  fact.    «Paul  sent  him  to 
Lysias.     Lysias  listened,  enjoined  silence  on  Paul's 
nephew,  and  immediately  sent  Paul,  at  the  third  hour 
of  the  night,  to  Csesarea,  under  a  guard  of  two  hun- 
dred soldiers,  seventy  horsemen,  and  two  hundred 
spearmen.     The  rage  against  St.  Paul  must  have 
risen  to  a  great  height  to  have  made  such  a  guard 
necessary.     Lysias  sent  a  letter  to  Felix,  referring 
the  case  to  him.     The  whole  party  escorted  Paul  as  \ 
far   as   Antipatris,  from  whence   he   proceeded  to  I 
Caesarea,  under  the  guard  of  horsemen.  (Acts,  xxiii.' 
12-35.) 

After  five  days,  the  High  Priest  Ananias  went  to 
Csesarea  with  the  elders,  and  an  orator  named  Ter- 


50  ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME. 

tulliis.  The  charges  brought  against  him  were  of  the 
vaguest  character.  Even  before  the  Sanhedrim,  Paul 
could  not  have  been  lawfully  condemned  upon  them ; 
for  they  could  not  be  proved.  Paul  stated  truly  that 
he  had  done  nothing  contrary  to  the  Jewish  law. 
Before  a  Roman  tribunal  they  could  not  have  been 
even  properly  entertained.  They  were  not  offenses 
which  came  within  its  cognizance.  The  Jews  evi- 
dently expected  by  clamor  to  carry  their  point.  They 
believed  that  for  the  purpose  of  conciliating  them, 
Felix,  without  law,  or  against  law,  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  sacrifice  an  obnoxious  Jew  to  their  violent 
and  unanimous  hatred.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Saviour^, 
they  wished  to  make  the  Roman  Government  the 
instrument  of  shedding  blood,  which  they  were  not 
permitted  by  the  law  to  do.  A  pestilent  fellow,  a 
mover  of  sedition  among  the  Jews  throughout  the 
I  world,  a  ringleader  of  the  Nazarenes,  and  a  profaner 
j  of  the  Temple, — these  were  the  charges.  Felix 
evaded  them.  His  reply  was:  "When  Lysias,  the 
;  chief  captain,  sharll  come  down,^[  will  know  the  utter- 
most of  your  matter."  (Acts,  xxiv.  22.)  He  showed 
some  interest  or  curiosity  at  least  in  Paul's  views,  for 
after  some  days  he  came  with  his  wife  Drusilla,  who 
was  a  Jewess,  and  heard  him  concerning  the  faith  of 
Christ.  "And  as  he  reasoned  of  temperance,  of 
righteousness,  and  of  judgment  to  come,"  Felix  trern- 
bled,  and  answered:  "Go  thy  way  for  this  time; 
when  I  have  a  convenient  season  I  will  call  for  thee." 
(Acts,  xxiv.  25.)  Temperance,  or  continence,  and 
righteousness,  and  judgment  to  come,  were  topics 
well  calculated  to  terrify  one  who  was  a  gross  liber- 
tine, living  in  adulterous  union  with  a  profligate 
Jewish  princess,  and  who  was  in  all  respects  pre- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  51 

eminently  vicious  in  an  age  of  vice.  But  this  trem- 
bling was  only  the  temporary  effects  of  fear,  pro- 
duced on  one  who,  in  the  graphic  language  of  Tacitus, 
"  exercised  the  power  of  a  king  with  the  temper  of 
a  slave."  We  are  told  that  he  retained  Paul  in 
custody  in  the  hope  that  his  friends  and  disciples 
would  raise  a  ransom  for  him.  (Acts,  xxiv.  26.) 

Again  the  scene  changes.  Festus  succeeds  Felix 
in  the  government  of  the  province.  Proceeding  im- 
mediately to  Jerusalem,  he  w^as  importuned  by  the 
Jews  to  send  Paul  therfc  for  trial.  Their  object  was 
to  have  him  waylaid  and  killed.  Festus,  a  better 
man  than  Felix,  at  first  refused.  He  decreed  that 
St.  Paul's  accuser  should  appear  before  his  tribunal 
at  Csesarea.  On  his  return  they  went  down,  and  laid 
many  and  grievous  things  to  his  charge,  "which," 
adds  the  sacred  writer,  "they  could  not  prove." 
Festus  at  length,  in  order  to  please  the  Jews,  pro- 
posed to  Paul  to  proceed  to  Jerusalem  under  his 
protection,  and  there  be  tried  in  his  presence.  The 
Apostle  no  doubt  knew  that  a  proconsul's  proposal 
to  his  prisoner  was  equivalent  to  a  command ;  and 
anticipating  from  this  compliance  with  Jewish  injus- 
tice but  little  firmness  in  an  emergency,  and  know- 
ing by  experience  the  deadly  hatred  of  his  enemy, 
he  uttered  the  memorable  words  which  resulted  in 
his  voyage  as  a  prisoner  to  Rome:  "I  APPEAL  TO 
C.ESAE."  The  appeal  could  not  be  refused;  it  was 
the  right  of  every  Roman  citizen,  and  it  could  not 
be  disregarded  with  impunity.  (Acts,  xxv.  1-11.) 

A  few  days  after,  Herod  Agrippa  II.  King  of 
Calchis,  and  his  sister  Bernice,  came  on  a  compli- 
mentary visit  to  the  new  governor  of  the  province. 
Festus  described  to  him  the  peculiar  case  of  Paul. 


52  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

Agrippa  expressed  a  desire  to  hear  from  Paul  him- 
self an  account  of  his  doctrine.  (Acts,  xxv.  13-22.) 

On  the  morrow,  with  great  pomp,  Agrippa  and 
Bernice,  and  the  chief  captains  and  principal  men 
of  the  city  assembled  in  the  audience  chamber  of 
the  palace,  and  Paul  was  permitted  to  speak  for 
himself.  It  was  a  most  interesting  audience,  and  a 
speech  of  singular  felicity  and  power.  He  defended 
himself  against  the  charge  of  heresy ;  described  his 
own  former  fiery  zeal  against  the  Christians ;  his  con- 
version and  divine  commission,  and  the  consequent 
hatred  of  the  Jews.  Festus  believed  that  long  and 
enthusiastic  study,  on  mysterious  themes,  had  turned 
Paul's  brain.  Agrippa,  a  Jew,  who  could  at  least  ac- 
cept the  premises  which  Paul  laid  down,  either  sin- 
cerely or  in  the  way  of  compliment,  declared  that  he 
felt  almost  constrained  to  yield  to  the  Apostle's  con- 

( elusion.  "Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian," was  his  declaration.  He  subsequently  de- 
clared that  St.  Paul  might  have  been  set  at  liberty  if 
he  had  not  appealed  unto  Caesar.  (Acts,  xxvi.) 

The  voyage  of  Paul  the  prisoner  to  Italy  was 
replete  with  striking  incidents.  My  plan  constrains 
me  to  omit  all  notice  of  this  memorable  voyage,  and 
to  resume  in  the  next  lecture  the  history  of  St. 
Paul  on  his  arrival  at  Puteoli. 

In  the  incidents  which  we  have  so  rapidly  sur- 
*  veyed,  we  have  a  remarkable  exhibition  in  the  Jews 
of  malignant,  fanatical,  persecuting  zeal;  and  an 
equally  striking  exemplification  in  St.  Paul  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  should  be  met.  It  is  vindictive 
and  wicked  persecution  encountering  holy  and  loving 
zeal. 

This  spirit  of  fanatical  and  vindictive  persecution 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  53 

is  a  fearful  and  monstrous  manifestation  of  our  fallen 
nature.  At  the  first  view  it  seems  simply  an  insane, 
absurd,  illogical  depravity.  Men  say  to  us,  "We 
have  the  truth  of  God.  You  are  in  error.  You 
hold  and  propagate  wrong  views  of  God  and  right 
and  duty.  They  will  ruin  your  soul  and  other  souls. ' ' 
What  in  this  state  of  things  should  be  their  feeling 
toward  us?  It  should,  evidently,  be  affectionate 
interest.  What  should  be  their  conduct?  A  loving 
effort  to  win  us  to  the  truth.  What  should  be  their 
conduct  and  their  feeling  if  they  fail?  Profound 
pity,  continued  kindness,  and  still  hopeful  prayer. 
This  is  the  legitimate  and  ordinary  working  of  holi- 
ness in  possession  of  the  truth.  It  was  the  spirit 
and  conduct  manifested  by  St.  Paul. 

But  instead  of  this  loving  spirit,  false,  fiery,  fana- 
tical, persecuting  zeal  exhibits  perhaps  the  most 
deadly  and  awful  hatred  that  ever  takes  possession, 
or  can  take  possession,  of  a  being  who  has  not  yet 
become  a  fiend. 

It  is  a  strange  and  hideous  manifestation  of  human 
depravity.  We  shudder  as  we  hear  it  howling  about 
St.  Paul  in  the  daytime,  as  he  stands  in  the  midst  of 
the  infuriated  rabble  in  the  court  of  the  Gentiles, 
and  among  the  vindictive  doctors  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
or  as  we  see  it  in  the  midnight  conclave  of  forty 
Jews,  who  bind  themselves  by  awful  imprecations 
not  to  eat  or  drink  until  they  shall  have  slain  the 
Apostle.  As  this  spirit  is  hideous  in  its  full  develop- 
ment, so  it  is  repulsive  in  every  form  and  degree  of 
its  manifestation. 

Yet  we  must  not  forget  that  it  arises  from  the  per- 
version of  the  highest  part  of  our  nature,  conscience. 
The  true  work  of  conscience  is  to  reprove  personal 

7 


54  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

sins.  Its  right  action  is  within.  It  is  not  to  be 
wounded  by  the  sins  of  others.  Love  may  suffer 
because  of  them,  and  conscience  prompt  love  to 
work  for  their  removal  and  their  forgiveness.  Con- 
science, guided  by  love,  takes  truth  and  goes  forth 
to  win  others  by  it  away  from  sin,  and  its  companion 
sorrow,  and  its  doom,  death.  If  it  fails,  it  is  not 
turned  into  hatred.  If  it  withdraws,  it  is  because  it 
has  ceased  to  hope.  It  does  not  scowl,  but  it  weeps 
when  it  retires. 

But  in  the  case  of  fanatical  and  persecuting  zeal, 
conscience  performs  a  different  function.     Not  being 
an  enlightened  and  sanctified  conscience,  it  does  not 
perform  its  appropriate  work.     It  does  not  act  on 
personal  sins.     It  is  wounded  by  the  sins  and  un- 
beliefs of  others.     It  works  itself  out  from  under 
the  mountain  load  of  its  own  iniquities,  by  which  it 
might  be  crushed  into  humility,  and  be  made  to 
bleed  in  contrition,  and  it  rushes  against  the  sins  of 
others,  and  is  thus  maddened  into  pride  and  resent- 
ment and  fierce  self-assertion,  which  it  sanctifies  with 
the  holy  name  of  zeal.     In  this  misdirection  of  a 
perverted  conscience,  it  does  not  abandon  love,  for 
love  was  never  with  it;  but  it  takes  with  it  the  whole 
dread  sisterhood  of  the  malignant  passions,  and  it  is 
these  which  it  drives  on  to  the  work  of  converting, 
,  coercing,  persecuting,   and   destroying.     The   true 
I  definition  of  fanatical  persecution  then  seems  to  bo 
1  that  it  is  a  perverted  conscience  employing  hatred  to  do 
>  > '  the  work  which  love  alone  can  do.     Then  it  is  a  Jehu  in 
'  his  chariot,  from  whom  not  alone  the  enemies,  but 
;  the  friends  of  God  must  flee  if  they  would  live. 
And  that  which  is  most  awful  in  this  portentous 
wickedness   is   that   it   considers    itself    eminently 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.     //  TJ  %j  .  „ 

righteous.     Never  are  the   malignai 

horrible  as  when  driven  on  by  conscien! 

men  persuade  themselves  that  it  is  their  duty  to  be 

vindictive,  to  let  loose  their  evil  passions,  to  hate, 

and  persecute,  and  torture,  then  will  there  be  such 

fiendish   developments   of  humanity  as   are   never 

elsewhere  witnessed. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  it  is  not  often  the  truth 
which  is  thus  used  in  the  service  of  persecuting  zeal; 
but  it  is  some  perversion  of  truth,  or  half  truth,  or 
single  truths  separated  from  those,  without  which 
they  are  errors;  or  it  is  simple  error  and  falsehood 
which  are  thus  employed.  Holy  truth  refuses  to  be 
used  except  by  holy  love.  The  spear  of  Gabriel  can- 
not be  fitted  to  the  hand  of  Lucifer.  This  persecu- 
ting fanaticism  is  Phariseeism,  destroying  the  spirit 
of  the  law  by  the  letter,  and  imposing  upon  men 
human  traditions  in  the  place  of  divine  laws.  It  is 
Judaism,  ignorant  of  the  spirit  and  yet  clinging  to 
the  forms  of  an  abrogated  economy.  It  is  Moham- 
medanism, with  its  false  prophet,  its  flaming  sword, 
and  its  impure  heaven.  It  is  the  zeal  of  the  Jews 
that  assailed  Paul  in  the  Temple,  and  raged  around 
him  in  the  Sanhedrim.  It  is  the  zeal  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion, the  zeal  of  Alva,  the  zeal  of  Philip  of  Spain 
and  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  the  zeal  of  those  who 
followed  the  saints  of  Savoy  with  fire  and  sword  to 
their  mountain  fastnesses,  and  drove  the  Huguenots, 
noble  martyrs  and  confessors,  into  the  wild  glens  of 
the  Cevennes. 

"Oh,  my  soul,  come  not  into  their  secret:  unto 
their  assembly  mine  honor  be  not  thou  united." 
It  is  an  utterly  hateful  and  horrible  spirit.  Let 
us  be  far  from  it.  There  is  no  danger  that  Prot- 


56  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

estant  Christians  should  exhibit  it  in  its  full  devel- 
opment. But  it  has  its  beginnings  and  its  partial 
manifestations  in  all  hearts  and  in  all  churches.  It 
is  to  be  found  in  its  germ  in  all  those  manifesta- 
tions of  zeal  in  which  the  consciences  of  the  right- 
eous are  more  troubled  by  the  sins  of  others  than 
by  their  own.  It  is  seen  wherever  there  is  exces- 
sive zeal  in  imposing  particular  dogmas  upon  others, 
and  in  making  individual  convictions  of  duty  the 
standard  for  the  churches,  rather  than  by  a  loving 
effort  to  develop  holiness  of  heart  and  life  in  others, 
chiefly  by  the  beautiful  and  winning  exhibition  of  it 
in  themselves.  Man  is  capable  of  such  singular 
contradictions  and  inconsistencies,  that  we  may  not, 
perhaps,  say  that  he  who  has  most  of  truth  will 
manifest  the  most  of  love ;  but  we  may  say  that  he 
ought  to  do  so,  and  may  add,  that  he  who  has  the 
most  of  love  will  be  likely  to  learn  the  most  truth ; 
and  that  when  he  shows  himself  not  lovingly  zeal- 
ous, but  fanatically  intolerant  and  persecuting  in  be- 
half of  any  doctrine,  it  is  likely  to  prove  either  a 
complete  error  or  but  a  partial  truth. 

St.  Paul's  conduct  when  exposed  to  this  fiery  fana- 
ticism teaches  us  in  what  spirit  and  with  what  holy 
prudence  it  should  be  met.  Nothing  can  be  more 
calculated  to  stir  up  a  spirit  of  resentment  and  indig- 
nation. However  these  may  have  been  excited,  and 
however  just  they  might  have  been,  they  were  over- 
come by  love  and  holy  zeal  for  his  deluded  brethren 
in  the  flesh.  Very  touching  is  the  declaration  which 
he  made  to  his  brethren  whom  he  called  together  at 
Rome  :  "Not  that  I  have  aught  to  accuse  my  nation 
of."  To  us  it  seems  as  if  there  were  much  cause  to 
accuse  them;  but  he,  remembering  his  journey  to 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  57 

Damascus,  and  how  recently  he  had  shared  their 
views  and  feelings,  felt  that  it  was  not  for  him  to 
accuse  his  nation,  although  they  had  thirsted  for  his 
blood,  and  driven  him  to  Rome  in  chains.  In  all 
his  speeches  there  are  no  words  of  denunciation. 
He  vindicates  himself.  He  endeavors  to  convince 
and  propitiate  his  enemies,  in  order  that  he  may 
present  to  them  the  hope  of  Israel,  and  persuade 
them  to  accept  the  great  salvation.  And  when  it 
becomes  evident  that  his  words  will  be  unavailing, 
he  bows  to  the  storm,  and  remembering  the  Master's 
assurance  that  he  must  testify  of  him  at  Rome, 
avails  himself  of  the  facilities  which  providence 
supplied  to  enable  him  to  escape  from  their  hands. 

How  beautiful  in  contrast  to  the  persecuting  zeal 
of  the  Jews  is  the  loving  zeal  of  Paul  for  his  perse- 
cutors ! 

"We  shall  miss  the  moral  of  this  instructive  history 
if  we  learn  only  to  abhor  the  one,  and  do  not  learn 
to  love  and  imitate  the  other. 


LECTURE   III. 

ST.  PAUL'S  JOURNEY  TO  ROME  FROM  PUTEOLI. 

And  from  thence  we  fetched  a  compass,  and  came  to  Rhegium:  and 
after  one  day  the  south  wind  blew,  and  we  came  to  Puteoli: 

Where  we  found  brethren,  and  were  desired  to  tarry  with  them  seven 
days;  and  so  we  went  toward  Rome. 

And  from  thence,  when  the  brethren  heard  of  us,  they  came  to  meet 
us  as  far  as  Appii  Forum,  and  the  Three  Taverns;  whom,  when  Paul 
saw,  he  thanked  God  and  took  courage. 

And  when  we  came  to  Rome,  the  centurion  delivered  the  prisoners  to 
the  captain  of  the  guard;  but  Paul  was  suffered  to  dwell  by  him- 
self with  a  soldier  that  kept  him. — ACTS,  xxviii.  13-16. 

RESCUED  from  shipwreck,  and  beaten  by  storms, 
Paul  at  length  reached  Italy.  At  no  part  of  that 
stormy  voyage  could  he  have  doubted  that  he  would 
be  saved;  for  the  Lord  had  appeared  to  him  when  a 
prisoner  in  the  castle  of  Antonia,  with  the  assurance 
that  he  should  testify  of  him  at  Rome;  and  again, 
at  the  height  of  the  storm,  before  his  shipwreck  upon 
the  island  of  Melita,  (now  Malta,)  he  had  repeated 
the  assurance:  "Fear  not;  thou  must  stand  before 
Csesar." 

The  ship  called  Castor  and  Pollux,  the  names  of 
the  saviors  of  Rome,  and  the  patrons  of  sailors, 
anchored  at  Puteoli,  (now  Pozzuoli,  near  Baii.) 
Puteoli  divided,  at  that  time,  with  Ostia  the  com- 
merce of  the  sea,  between  Rome  and  the  provinces. 
It  was  the  chief  port  of  the  corn  vessels  of  Alexan- 
dria. The  amount  of  corn  transmitted  from  Egypt 
to  Italy  at  this  period  was  immense.  The  commerce 
(58) 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  59 

of  Puteoli  was  then  so  large  that  an  English  wrjjer 
calls  it  "the  Liverpool  of  Italy." 

When  St.  Paul  rounded  the  promontory  of  Mi- 
nerva, at  the  southeastern  limit  of  the  Bay  of  Naples, 
a  scene  of  unparalleled  loveliness  must  have  burst 
upon  his  view.  The  admiration  of  the  world,  in  our 
day,  for  its  natural  charms  and  its  picturesque  ruins, 
its  shores  were  then  everywhere  alive  with  prosperous 
cities  and  villages ;  and  imperial  and  patrician  mag- 
nificence had  covered  the  whole  of  the  adjoining 
beautiful  landscape  of  the  bay,  from  the  promontory 
of  Minerva  to  that  of  Misenum,  with  villas,  gardens, 
and  vineyards.  Opposite  the  promontory,  as  he  en- 
tered the  bay,  slept  the  Isle  of  Capri,  so  softly  peace- 
ful and  lovely  under  its  veil  of  blue,  that  it  would 
seem  as  if  the  imperial  monster,  Tiberius,  must  have 
started  back  with  remorse  as  he  approached  it  with 
the  view  of  making  it  the  scene  of  his  hideous  vices. 
Vesuvius,  not  then  furrowed  and  scarred  with  lava, 
but  green  and  laughing  with  vineyards,  rose  in  per- 
fect symmetry  from  a  sea  and  against  a  sky  whose 
pure  and  brilliant  tints  are  all  that  time  and  desola- 
tion have  not  stained  or  dimmed,  and  formed  an  ap- 
propriate background  to  the  matchless  scene.  Her- 
culaneum  and  Pompeii  slept,  unconscious  of  danger, 
nestled  as  for  protection  at  his  giant  feet.  Little 
could  St.  Paul  then  imagine  that  Drusilla,  who,  with 
Felix,  had  heard  him  reason  of  righteousness,  and 
continence,  and  judgment  to  come,  at  Csesarea,  would, 
in  a  few  years,  perish  with  the  child  born  from  her 
adulterous  marriage  with  Felix,  under  a  fire-storm 
like  that  which  overwhelmed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
and  whose  coming  perhaps  awakened  with  horror 
the  memory  of  the  solemn  warnings  of  the  Apostle ! 


60  ST.  PAUL   IX   ROME. 

As  the  ship  proceeded  up  the  bay  to  Misenum,  St. 
Paul  might  have  discerned  the  imperial  fleet,  which 
was  habitually  stationed  in  that  harbor,  and  which 
the  younger  Pliny  commanded  at  the  period  of  the 
eruption  of  Vesuvius.     Nearing  the  lovely  and  quiet 
cove  at  the  recess  of  the  bay,  between  Baii  and  Pu- 
teoli,  he  obtained  a  closer  view  of  that  portion  of  the 
coast  w^hich  was  the  summer  resort  of  patricians  of 
the  higher  rank,  and  hence  was  most  magnificent  and 
gay.     A  lettered  man,  Paul  was  familiar  no  doubt 
with  some  of  the  incidents  of  which  this  region  had 
been  the  scene.     As  they  approached  the  harbor,  it 
might  be  told  to  him  how  that  here  the  aged  and 
invalid  Augustus,  cruising  in  the  bay  for  health,  was 
recognized  by  the  sailors  of  an  Alexandrian  corn- 
ship,  like  that  in  which  he  sailed,  and  how  they 
.Brought  out  garlands  and  incense,  paying  to  him  di- 
vine honors,  and  attributing  to  him  their  prosperous 
/voyage;  and  how  the  dying  mortal,  pleased  to  be 
(called  a  god,  distributed  to  them  profuse  gold  for 
\fcheir  impious  flattery.     Another  might  point  out  to 
1  him  the  remains  upon  the  shore  of  that  useless  and 
wondrous  floating  bridge,  nearly  a  league  in  length, 
with  its  pavements,  and  fountains,  and  works  of  art, 
/  which  the  mad  Caligula  constructed  across  the  bay, 
,  over  which  he  rode  in  the  chariot  rifled  from  the  tomb 
of  Alexander,  in  the  character  of  a  conquering  impera- 
tor;  and  from  which,  when  he  returned  at  night — 
night  converted  into  day  by  innumerable  torches — 
drunk  with  cruelty  and  wine,  he  remorselessly  con- 
signed a  multitude  of  his  attendants,  guiltless  victims 
of  his  drunken  frenzy,  to  the  sea.     Another,  with 
bated  breath,  might  point  out  to  him  Bauli,  where 
the  then  reigning  Nero,  only  two  years  before,  had 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  61 

laid  the  plot  for  the  murder  of  his  mother  Agrip- 
pina.  As  he  entered  the  mole,  massive  ruins  of 
which  still  remain,  the  gay  yachts  of  the  patricians 
would  multiply  around  him;  and  there  upon  the  sea- 
shore he  would  learn  that  the  vast  pile  which  hung 
over  the  sea,  and  whose  ruins  still  remain,  once  be- 
longed to  Julius  Caesar;  and  that  on  the  slope  of  the 
hill  above  was  the  villa  of  Cicero,  where,  as  he  might 
remember  or  be  told,  the  Dictator  paid  a  visit  of  state, 
accompanied  with  six  thousand  soldiers,  in  order  to 
intimidate  or  seduce  the  vain  and  vacillating  states- 
man, who  was  too  patriotic  to  approve,  and  too  timid 
or  politic  to  resist  his  guilty  ambition.  There  also, 
in  the  city,  he  would  discern  the  conspicuous  temple 
of  the  Egyptian  deity  Serapis,  some  of  whose  col- 
umns the  tourist  still  sees  standing  in  the  midst  of  the 
surrounding  desolation. 

What  were  the  emotions  of  the  solitary  prisoner 
Paul,  as  he  prepared  to  set  his  foot  upon  the  Italian, 
shore,  in  the  midst  of  the  rude  crowds  that  throng 
the  quays  of  a  seaport  city  ?  It  is  no  disparagement 
to  him,  or  to  the  grace  that  was  with  him,  to  suppose 
that  they  may  have  been  sad.  He  was  approaching 
the  city  which  dominated  over  the  nations.  He  saw 
thus  far  off  evidences  of  its  unparalleled  magnificence 
and  power.  He  knew  that  heathenism  occupied  at 
Rome  a  more  stable  throne  than  that  of  the  Caesars. 
Its  sway  wras  over  the  soul.  It  held  Caesars  and 
subjects  in  subjection  alike  by  their  consciences 
and  their  fears,  arid  by  appeals  to  their  passions 
and  their  lusts.  It  was  tolerant  of  all  idola- 
tries, but  vindictive  toward  true  religion.  It  ad- 
mitted the  sensual  divinities  of  Egypt  and  the 
abominable  idolatries  of  Syria,  while  it  denounced 

8 


62  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

Judaism  as  a  malignant  superstition,  the  spirit  of 
which  was  hatred  to  man  and  disloyalty  to  the  em- 
pire. It  defamed  Christianity  as  impure,  while  it 
multiplied  temples  to  Venus,  and  presented  such 
"gods  as  guilt  makes  welcome,"  whose  chief  attri- 
butes were  lust,  selfishness,  hatred,  and  cruelty.  And 
the  work  of  Paul  was — what?  To  carry  into  such  a 
scene  the  simple,  holy,  self-denying  religion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  That  religion  could  not  take  its 
place  by  the  side  of  the  thousand  idolatries  that 
prevailed  at  Rome.  By  its  very  nature  it  claimed  all 
men,  and  excluded  as  false,  impious,  degrading,  and 
ruinous,  all  idolatries.  Its  promulgation  would  in- 
volve at  once  bitter  wrath  and  scorn,  and  at  length 
persecution,  torture,  death.  And  the  agency  by 
which  it  was  to  be  accomplished  was — the  foolishness 
of  preaching!  The  story  of  the  cross  and  resurrec- 
tion, as  supplying  the  antidote  and  atonement  for 
sin,  and  the  triumph  over  death — this  story  with  the 
promised  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit — this  was  his 
instrument.  Men  without  position,  influence,  or 
power, — lowly  men  for  the  most  part  and  unlearned, 
— were  thus  to  propagate  a  religion,  against  which 
all  the  passions,  vices,  associations,  and  present  in- 
terests of  the  world  would  be  arrayed.  These  were 
their  arts  and  these  their  arms, — no  other  and  no 
more !  Well  might  it  seem  to  mere  human  judgment, 
weighing  human  forces,  a  wild  and  impracticable 
scheme ! 

It  would  not  have  been  surprising,  therefore,  if  at 
such  a  moment,  in  contemplating  his  journey  to 
Rome,  however  unshaken  his  faith  and  fidelity  and 
resolutions,  a  deep  depression  had  settled  upon  his 
soul.  We  infer  that  there  had  been  something  of 


ST.  PAUL   IN    EOME.  63 

this  feeling  previous  to  his  meeting  of  the  brethren 
at  the  Appii  Forum  and  the  Three  Taverns",  from 
the  fact  that  when  he. saw  them  he  thanked  God  and 
took  courage.  The  expression  would  seem  to  imply 
a  previous  sinking  of  his  heart.  All  that  we  know 
of  the  quick,  sensitive,  affectionate,  all-alive,  and 
impressible  character  of  Paul,  leads  us  to  the  infer- 
ence that  his  heart  must  have  been  heavy.  He  was 
affectionate  and  craved  affection,  and  he  had  been 
long  alone,  in  scenes  of  peril  and  suffering,  without 
Christian  sympathy  or  aid.  He  longed  for  and  loved 
his  brethren  according  to  the  flesh ;  and  yet  only  as 
an  outcast,  and  a  prisoner  in  chains,  could  he  escape 
assassination  at  their  hands.  He  had  passed  through 
toils,  imprisonments,  persecutions,  defamations, 
scourgings,  and  perils  without  number.  He  was 
bound  with  a  chain  to  a  soldier  that  kept  him.  We 
must  suppose  him  almost  more  than  human,  if,  at 
that  moment,  he  did  not  wish  at  least  that  it  had 
been  the  Master's  will  to  release  him  and  send  him 
to  his  rest.  But  he  did  not,  like  Moses,  beg  to  be 
released.  His  heroic  faith  and  patience,  his  unfail- 
ing love  and  unfaltering  zeal  appear  all  the  more  re- 
markable when  we  consider  the  position  in  which 
he  was  placed,  and  take  the  measure  of  the  obstacles 
which  they  overcame.  And  this  is  precisely  the 
work  of  grace — the  triumph  of  God's  strength  in 
the  midst  of  human  weakness,  and  the  emergence 
of  God's  joy  from  the  midst  of  human  sorrow.  The 
contemplation  of  Paul,  a  slight,  worn,  and  weary 
man  in  chains,  stepping  from  the  ship  Castor  and 
Pollux  on  the  crowded  quay  of  Puteoli,  testifies  in 
the  most  striking  way,  that  not  by  power  nor  might, 
but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  does  God  confound 


64  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

the  mighty.  We  walk  amid  the  ruins  of  that  mighty 
empire;  but  the  kingdom  which  Paul  planted  is 
spreading  over  the  world,  and  will  at  last  become 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace 
which  shall  cover  all  the  earth.  No  event  in  the 
annals  of  Rome  at  that  period,  whether  it  were  the 
march  of  armies,  or  the  wild,  gigantic  crimes  of 
Nero,  are  to  be  compared  in  significance  and  import- 
ance to  the  landing  of  that  chained  and  tempest- 
tossed  captive  at  the  port  of  Puteoli. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  his  feelings  before 
landing,  doubtless  his  heart  was  reassured  when  the 
brethren  met  him  and  urged  him  to  remain  seven 
days.  Julius  acceded  to  their  request.  The  news  ot 
Paul's  arrival  was  sent  to  the  brethren  at  Rome. 
They  must  have  been  to  him  days  of  bodily  and 
spiritual  refreshment,  which  fitted  him  for  his  jour- 
ney and  his  work. 

St.  Paul's  journey  to  Rome  is  in  part  indicated  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  can  with  great  proba- 
bility be  conjectured  as  a  whole.  He  probably 
struck  the  great  Appian  Way,  which  reached  from 
Rome  to  Brundusium — the  queen  of  roads,  as  a  Ro- 
man poet  calls  it, — at  Capua.  There  his  eye  rested 
on  that  colossal  amphitheater,  which  must  have  been 
to  him  an  overwhelming  demonstration  of  the  truth 
of  his  representations  of  the  cruelty  and  brutality 
of  man,  which  he  had  appropriately  addressed  to 
the  Romans.  The  first  part  of  the  journey  to  Cumse, 
the  modern  traveler  visits  with  great  interest,  as  the 
scene  of  the  early  mythology  of  Italy  and  of  Vir- 
gil's poetical  conceptions  of  the  other  world.  Capua 
was  then  a  magnificent  city,  basking  in  the  sunshine 
of  imperial  favor.  From  Capua  to  Terracina,  a 


ST.  PAUL   IX    ROME.  65 

distance  of  seventy  miles,  the  way  was  strewn  with, 
historic  memories,  the  localities  of  which  were 
no  doubt  pointed  out  to  Paul  by  the  courteous  Ju- 
lius. As  the  road  skirted  the  Bay  of  Formise,  wit 
its  villas  on  the  sloping  hills,  that  of  Cicero  woulc 
be  pointed  out,  and  the  scene  depicted  in  which  the 
bewildered  statesman,  agitated  by  conflicting  pur 
poses,  borne  in  his  lectica,  or  coach,  was  met  anc 
murdered  by  assassins,  the  emissaries  of  Mark 
tony.  From  Terracina,  the  great  Campagna,  with 
the  Pontine  Marshes  immediately  below,  spread 
out  to  the  blue  Alban  hills.  Whether  the  transit 
from  this  point  across  the  unwholesome  marsh 
to  the  Appii  Forum  was  made  upon  the  road  or 
upon  the  canal  which  was  cut  by  Augustus  with  a 
view  to  drain  it,  does  not  appear.  But  on  his  ar- 
rival at  the  latter  place,  an  incident  occurred  which 
is  one  of  the  most  touching  in  the  eventful  life  of 
Paul. 

In  the  itinerics  which  remain,  we  find  enumerated 
as  post  stations  on  the  Appian  Way  from  Rome,  Aricia, 
the  Three  Taverns,  and  the  Appii  Forum.  The  Appii  \ 
Forum  was  the  northern  termination  of  the  canal,  / 
and  43  miles  from  Rome.     Horace  describes  it  as  a/ 
low  place  filled  with  bargemen  and  tavern-keepers. 
It  was  at  this  distance  from  Rome  that   Christian 
brethren  and  friends,  who  had  heard  of  his  arrival  at 
Puteoli,  came  out  to  meet  him.     2\o  doubt  some  of 
those  whom  the  Apostle  names  in  the  closing  chap- 
ter of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  as  his  fellow-help- 
ers, his  well-beloved   and   honored    disciples    and 
friends,  were  among  the  number.     We  can  scarcely 
suppose  Aquila  and  Priscilla  to  have  been  absent. 
Behold  how  these  Christians  love  one  another!   We 


66  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

seem  to  recall  the  meeting  and  the  greeting  in  that 
rude  scene.  The  weary  Apostle,  forgetting  the 
heavy  chain  and  the  soldier  to  whom  he  was  per- 
petually bound,  as  to  a  body  of  death ;  the  sorrow  of 
the  brethren  to  see  their  beloved  and  holy  teacher, 
worthy  of  all  honor,  as  a  prisoner  on  his  way  to 
trial;  the  warm  expressions  and  the  animated  ges- 
tures of  sympathy  and  affection  which  belong  to  the 
inhabitants  of  these  Southern  lands ;  the  gratitude 
and  animation  of  the  Apostle;  the  rapid  and  eager 
question  and  reply  concerning  mutual  Christian 
friends  and  the  interests  of  their  loved  Master's 
kingdom ;  Paul's  prayer  with  the  brethren,  in  the 
open  air,  as  before  at  Miletus,  where  he  parted  with 
the  elders,  in  which  he  could  now,  indeed,  lift  up  his 
free  heart,  but  not  his  manacled  hand,  to  Heaven; 
and  the  wonder,  not  perhaps  unmixed  with  scorn 
and  jeer  of  the  attendants  and  of  the  soldier  to 
whom  Paul  was  chained,  and  of  the  rude,  staring 
multitude  around  them, — we  see  it  all.  Oh !  when 
Christian  brethren  were  so  few,  in  the  midst  of  a 
world  lying  in  wickedness,  how  precious  to  both 
parties  must  have  been  that  meeting  on  the  coniines 
of  the  Pontine  Marshes !  It  is  only  in  foreign  mission- 
ary fields  of  labor,  where  the  disciples  of  Christ  are 
as  a  handful  of  corn  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains, 
that  the  affection,  the  joy,  the  sorrow,  the  elevation, 
the  consolation,  the  fervent  prayers  and  the  tearful 
praises  of  that  meeting  can  be  realized. 

At  a  distance  of  ten  miles  farther,  at  the  "  Three 
Taverns,"  St.  Paul  was  welcomed  by  another  group 
of  brethren.  Three  roads  met  at  this  point,  and 
hence  perhaps  the  name  and  thing — "The  Three 
Taverns."  The  place  subsequently  became,  in  con- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  67 

sequence  of  the  celebrity  acquired  by  the  incident 
here  mentioned,  a  nourishing  city  and  the  seat  of  anL^_ 
Episcopate,  the  records  of  which  reach  to  the  ninth! 
century.     When  Paul  saw  the  brethren,  he  thanked 
God  and  took  courage. 

From  that  point  the  interest  of  the  journey  must 
have  increased,  and  his  mind  must  have  been  kept 
upon  the  alert  by  converse  with  his  friends,  and  by 
the  indications  everywhere  multiplying  that  he  was 
approaching  the  capital  of  the  world.  The  beauti- 
ful blue  Alban  range  of  hills,  with  its  then  conspic- 
uous Temple  of  Jupiter  upon  Monte  Cavo,  in  the 
spot  now  disfigured  by  the  hideous  monastery  of  the 
Passionists,  rose  before  him,  as  the  road  wound 
around  its  southern  slope,  which  was  covered  with 
villas,  to  the  point  now  called  Albano.  From  that 
position,  not  too  high  or  distant  for  the  view  to  be 
intelligible,  he  gazed  'upon  a  scene  of  beauty  rarely 
surpassed,  and  upon  the  signs  and  evidences  of 
power  concentrated  at  its  imperial  seat,  never  before 
or  since,  in  the  history  of  nations,  equaled.  The 
vast  Campagna,  even  now  singularly  and  mysteri- 
ously lovely  in  its  desolation,  was  then  bright  and 
fresh  in  all  the  charms  which  cultivation,  luxury, 
and  art  could  add  to  those  of  nature.  It  was  a 
scene  of  solid,  palatial  villas,  of  slighter  "houses  of 
pleasure,"  as  they  were  called,  of  temples  and  con- 
verging roads,  and  stately,  far-stretching  aqueducts, 
in  the  midst  of  meadows  and  vineyards  and  gardens. 
It  must  have  been  then  an  era  in  any  man's  life  when! 
he  first  saw  Rome  in  her  glory,  as  it  is  now  when  he 
first  sees  her  in  her  desolation. 

The  first  distinct  point  at  which  the  city  would 
plainly  appear,  and  at  which  a  traveler  would  natu- 


68  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

rally  pause,  was  that  at  which  the  lofty  monument 
of  Pompey,  erected  by  his  widow,  stood,  as  its 
stripped  and  desolate  shaft  now  stands.  At  his 
left  he  would  see  the  villa  of  the  great  triumvir, 
whose  ruins  can  still  be  traced,  transformed  into  an 
imperial  summer  residence.  Before  him  the  road 
would  be  seen  to  lie  straight  as  an  arrow, — as  the 
same  road  recently  opened  can  still  be  seen, — to  its 
entrance  into  the  city  at  the  Porta  Capena.  But 
how  changed  its  aspect  from  then  to  now!  Now  a 
street  of  scattered,  broken  tombs;  then  the  most 
thronged  and  splendid  avenue  to  a  city  of  probably 
two  millions  of  inhabitants,  through  fifteen  miles  of 
intervening  villas  and  gardens,  which  were  them- 
selves almost  a  continuous  city,  in  the  midst  of 
groves  and  vineyards.  The  custom  of  lining  the 
main  avenues  to  their  city  with  tombs,  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Romans,  did  not,  in  their  external 
aspect  at  least,  render  them  gloomy  and  repulsive. 
The  tombs  were  structures  of  the  utmost  elegance 
and  beauty.  The  ingenuity  of  architects  was  taxed 
to  make  them  graceful  and  pleasing.  They  were 
adorned  with  busts  and  statues  of  the  departed.  Upon 
the  slopes  of  those  tombs  which  were  fashioned  after 
the  Etruscan  manner,  trees  and  parterres  of  flowers 
were  planted.  As  a  mere  method  of  giving  beauty 
to  an  avenue  which  constituted  the  approach  to  a 
great  city,  nothing  so  effective  could  have  been  de- 
vised. As  they  are  reproduced  in  the  engravings  of 
Canina,  it  is  evident  that  the  intermixture  of  the 
vast  Etruscan  mound-like  tombs,  the  graceful  Gre- 
cian miniature  temples,  the  round  Roman  sepul- 
chers,  like  that  of  Cecilia  Metella,  the  square  altars, 
the  massive  simple  sarcophagi,  like  that  of  Scipio, 


*       or™, 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME,  ff  U  IT  I  V  E  $%  I  T 


interspersed  with  innumerable 
for  busts  and  statues,  must  have 
of  architectural  variety  and  beauty  never  elsewhere 
equaled.  Between  the  tombs,  as  they  passed,  the 
travelers  must  have  been  constantly  regaled  with  the 
view  of  the  villas  and  gardens  that  were  placed  be- 
hind them.  The  city,  from  the  slope  of  the  Alban 
hills,  might  have  been  distinctly  seen;  and  though 
wanting  in  those  picturesque  spires  and  campaniles 
and  those  impressive  domes  which  give  so  much 
effect  to  modern  cities,  it  must  have  had  more  than 
a  compensation  in  the  gleaming  roofs  of  bronze, 
which  covered  many  of  the  loftier  edifices,  and  in 
those  numerous  and  splendid  colonnades  and  porti- 
coes, than  which  nothing  gives  greater  architectural 
pomp  and  majesty  to  a  city.  The  uplifted  Pala- 
tine hill,  with  its  far-  stretching  line  of  palaces,  its 
white  gleaming  temple  of  Apollo,  and  its  innu- 
merable porticoes  and  colonnades,  the  theater  and 
portico  of  Pompey,  the  portico  of  Octavia,  the 
mausoleum  of  Augustus  with  its  gardens,  and  high 
eminent  over  all  the  city  the  arx  of  the  steep  Capi- 
tol hill,  and  the  resplendent  temple  of  Jupiter  Capi- 
tolinus.  What  a  scene  of  unequaled  magnificence 
it  must  have  been  !  The  one  dome  of  the  Pantheon 
could  scarcely  have  been  overlooked,  and  the  eyes 
of  Paul  no  doubt  rested  upon  that  shining  heathen 
bronze,  which  has  since  been  converted  into  the 
sacred  baldachino  of  St.  Peter's  and  the  orthodox 
cannon  of  St.  Angelo. 

In  the  representation  of  our  Lord's  temptation  by 
Satan,  in  the  Paradise  Regained,  He  is  made  to  gaze 
in  vision  upon  imperial  Rome.  "We  may  well  con- 
ceive that  Milton  had  this  point  of  view  in  mind  as 


70  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

that  from  which  the  magnificent  spectacle  was  seen. 
If  we  except  the  poetical  license  of  "  turrets  and  glit- 
tering spires,"  the  description  is  as  literally  accurate 
as  it  is  gorgeously  beautiful. 

"The  city  which  thou  seest,  no  other  deem 
Than  great  and  glorious  Rome,  Queen  of  the  Earth, 
So  far  renowned,  and  with  the  spoils  enriched 
Of  nations;  there  the  Capitol  thou  seest 
Above  the  rest  lifting  his  stately  head 
On  the  Tarpeian  rock,  her  citadel 
Impregnable;  and  there  Mount  Palatine 
The  imperial  palace,  compass  huge  and  high 
The  structure,  skill  of  noblest  architects, 
"With  gilded  battlements,  conspicuous  far, 
Turrets,  and  terraces,  and  glittering  spires; 
Many  a  fair  edifice  besides,  more  like 
Houses  of  gods,  so  well  I  have  disposed 
My  aery  microscope,  thou  may'st  behold 
Outside  and  inside  both,  pillars  and  roofs, 
Carved  work,  the  hand  of  famed  artificers, 
In  cedar,  marble,  ivory,  and  gold. 
Thence  to  the  gates  cast  round  thine  eye,  and  see 
What  conflux  issuing  forth,  or  entering  in; 
Praetors,  Proconsuls  to  their  provinces 
Hasting,  or  on  return,  in  robes  of  state, 
Lictors  and  rods,  the  ensigns  of  their  power, 
Legions  and  cohorts,  turms  of  horse  and  wings; 
Or  embassies  from  regions  far  remote, 
In  various  habits,  on  the  Appian  road, 
Or  on  the  Emilian ;  some  from  farthest  south, 
Syene,  and  where  the  shadow  both  way  falls. 
Meroe,  Nilotic  isle;  and,  more  to  west, 
The  realm  of  Bocchus  to  the  Black-moor  sea, 
From  the  Asian  kings,  and  Parthian,  among  these; 
From  India,  and  the  Golden  Chersonese, 
And  utmost  Indian  isle,  Taprobane, 
Dark  faces  with  white  silken  turbans  wreathed ; 
From  Gallia,  Gades,  and  the  British  west; 
Germans,  and  Scythians,  and  Sarmatians,  north, 
Beyond  Danubius  to  the  Tauric  pool. 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  71 

All  nations  now  to  Rome  obedience  pay; 

To  Rome's  great  emperor,  whose  wide  domain, 

In  ample  territory,  wealth,  and  power, 

Civility  of  manners,  arts,  and  arms, 

And  long  renown,  thou  justly  may  prefer." 

This  custom  of  placing  tombs  upon  a  gay  and 
crowded  avenue,  and  of  making  them  riant  and 
graceful,  rather  than  solemn  and  impressive,  seems 
strange  and  repulsive  to  our  Christian  sentiment. 
"We  seek  to  bury  the  dead  apart  from  the  living,  in 
scenes  which  human  noises  do  not  reach,  and  where 
only  the  voices  of  falling  waters,  and  rustling  leaves, 
and  singing  birds  are  heard.  And  this  difference  of 
sentiment  and  feeling  has  its  sufficient  reason  in  the 
far  different  views  of  the  other  world  entertained  by 
the  pagan  and  the  Christian.  To  the  Roman,  death 
was  simply  gloomy.  In  this  life  only  was  the  good 
and  the  joyful  certainly  to  be  found.  To  the  multi- 
tude the  future  world  was  a  dim,  chill  land  of  rest- 
less ghosts,  in  the  torture  of  Tartarus,  or  the  dull 
peace  of  Elysium.  To  the  cultivated  mind  it  was,  as  1 
to  Csesar,  nothingness;  or,  as  to  Cicero,  a  thing  of  l 
hope  and  yet  of  doubt.  Hence  prayers  and  offerings  ) 
to  the  gods  were  only  supplications  and  bribes,  as  to 
beings  moved  by  human  motives,  for  long  life,  and 
health,  and  wealth,  and  pleasure.  To  live  here  on 
earth,  in  the  midst  of  earthly  good,  secure  from  want 
and  care,  was  their  highest  idea  of  well-being.  Their 
loftiest  philosophy  had  no  better  consolation  than 
the  mocking  lie :  "  The  sorrows  and  pains  of  life  are 
nothing  if  you  will  only  think  so!"  Hence  they 
clung  to  life.  They  could  not  bear  to  be  torn  away 
from  their  human  haunts,  and  be  forgotten.  They 
would  still  live  in  memory  by  their  presence  in  busts 


72  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

and  statues  in  their  olden  homes.  Hence  these 
were  placed,  together  with  their  family  records,  in 
the  "tabulmum,"  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  por- 
tions of  their  dwellings.  Hence  also  their  tomhs 
must  be  upon  the  public  ways,  that  old  friends  might 
see  and  remember  them  every  day;  and  that  they 
might  have  a  feeling  before  they  died,  that  their  life 
was  in  this  way,  in  some  sort,  protracted  among  them. 
These  great  pompous  sepulchers  then, — what  were 
they  all  to  Paul  but  gigantic  characters  stretching 
over  the  Campagna,  and  writing  the  sad  record, 
which  in  its  defacement  we  still  can  trace,  "  No  joy 
and  no  sure  hope,  beyond  the  tomb!"  But  the  children 
'of  the  resurrection,  whose  bodies  rest,  not  in  despair 
but  hope,  desire  not  that  their  flesh  should  be  laid 
in  cold  marble,  or  their  ashes  gathered  in  unperisha- 
ble  urns,  amid  the  noise  and  tumult  of  our  poor 
earthly  life,  but,  remembering  the  sublime  declara- 
tion, "the  seed  is  not  quickened  except  it  die,"  they 
desire  to  place  the  immortal  body  safely  in  the  earth, 
the  mother  of  its  second  glorious  birth,  apart  from 
the  noise  of  cities,  in  a  peaceful  campo  santo,  circled 
by  silence,  and  calm  and  sweet  with  sober  beauty. 
It  is  only  a  true  Christian  sentiment  which  thus 
honors  and  reverences  the  body,  which,  "sown  in 
weakness,"  is  to  be  "raised  in  power."  Only  a  false 
system,  which  gives  up  the  bodies  of  the  saved  to 
ages  of  purgatorial  torment,  could  produce  that 
horror  and  shrinking  from  the  dear  dead,  which  leads 
wives  and  husbands,  parents  and  children,  to  allow 
their  departed  loved  ones  to  be  carried  to  the  tomb, 
not  with  joyful  resurrection  anthems,  but  with  most 
mournful  dirges,  in  which  there  is  no  undertone  of 
hope,  and  to  be  borne  away  from  them  by  black- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  73 

robed  officials  and  hired  Cappucini,  under  grim 
death's-head  effigies,  to  the  church,  thence  to  be  car- 
ried out  at  midnight,  without  a  friend,  and  to  be 
thrust  naked  into  a  common  receptacle  of  the  decay- 
ing dead,  to  be  consumed  by  lime  more  rapidly  than 
by  nature's  process  of  decay.  In  that  stately  street 
of  tombs,  Paul  could  see  the  Roman's  joyless  hea- 
thenism, as  in  these  misnamed  "CampiSanti" — bare 
stone  holes, — we  read  the  perverted  Christianity  of 
the  Romanist. 

It  is  an  interesting  thought  to  us,  that  Paul's  eye 
must  have  rapidly  glanced,  as  he  passed  by,  at  some 
of  those  epitaphs  which  we  now  read  in  the  Hall  of 
Inscriptions,  in  the  Vatican.  How  exceeding  sad 
they  sometimes  are !  How  affectingly  they  portray 
the  "sorrow  without  hope"  of  heathen  bereave- 
ment! Two  of  these  epitaphs  which  I  recently  saw 
in  the  Roman  burial-ground  at  Aries,  in  France,  will 
express  the  two  feelings  that  generally  pervade  them 
all.  The  one,  in  its  cold  and  sharp  conciseness, 
sounds  like  hard  despair;  the  other  is  the  wail  of 
inconsolable  maternal  grief.  The  one  reads  thus: 
"Fui.  Non  sum.  Estis.  Non  eritis.  Nemo  immortalis." 
"I  was.  I  am  not.  Thou  art.  Thou  wilt  not  be.  No 
one  is  immortal."  The  other  exclaims :  "Oh  grief! 
what  bitter  tears  have  watered  the  sepulcher  where 
the  ashes  of  Lucina  lie, — Lucina,  the  joy  of  her  mother, 
and  the  sweet  flower  of  her  old  age.  Would  that 
the  gods  might  permit  her  to  return  to  life,  that  she 
might  know  how  great  is  my  affliction.  She  lived 
27  years,  10  months,  and  13  days.  I,  Parthenoppe, 
her  unhappy  mother,  have  erected  to  her  this  monu- 
ment." In  view  of  the  spiritual  darkness  and  desti- 
tution of  the  souls  of  the  Romans,  thus  exhibited  in 


74  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

their  pompous  monuments,  we  may  well  suppose  that 
the  magnificence  of  Rome  impressed  Paul  more  with 
pity  than  with  awe.  To  them  were  applicable  the 
words  of  the  Master:  "Thou  sayest  that  thou  art 
rich  and  increased  in  goods  and  have  need  of  nothing ; 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and  misera- 
ble, and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked."  The  pomp  of 
their  sepulchers  was  a  symbol  of  their  entire  condi- 
tion. It  was  splendor  shrouding  death ! 

If  St.  Paul  approached  the  Porta  Capena  at  the 
close  of  the  day,  he  would  find  it  a  scene  of  gayety 
and  bustle.  It  was  the  hour,  as  that  was  the  locality, 
in  which  the  patricians  and  fashionables  of  Rome — 
as  now  upon  the  Pincian  hill — took  their  walk  or 
drive.  As  he  passed  under  the  arch,  the  Apostle 
could  scarcely  have  avoided  meditating  upon  the 
streams  of  human  life  that  had  for  centuries  been 
flowing  through  it,  to  and  from  the  most  distant  re- 
gions of  the  earth.  Victorious  generals  and  empe- 
rors with  their  legions,  and  captives,  and  spoils,  pac- 
ing in  stately  and  slow  magnificence,  from  morning 
until  evening;  ambassadors,  and  kings,  the  guests  of 
the  empire,  from  beyond  the  Euphrates,  on  the  east,  to 
Gaul  and  Britain,  on  the  west;  the  representatives 
of  every  nationality  from  every  class  of  life;  the 
funereal  pomps  of  Caesars  and  patricians, — what  sor- 
rows, what  hopes,  what  pride,  what  despair,  what 
passion,  what  vice,  what  glory,  and  what  shame  had 
poured  for  centuries  through  that  avenue  as  through 
a  channel,  a  noisy,  foaming,  rapid  tide  of  life,  rush- 
ing on  to  the  great  sea  of  death ! 

And  now  within  the  city,  and  leaving  the  crowded 
Aventine  hill  on  the  left,  and  passing  between  the 
Cseliau  and  the  southern  portion  of  the  Palatine  hill, 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  75 

he  emerges  on  the  ridge  Velia,  where  the  arch  of 
Titus  was  subsequently  built;  and  the  famous  Forum, 
the  very  beating  heart  of  Rome,  with  all  its  architec- 
tural magnificence  is  before  him!  On  the  left,  the 
Palatine  hill,  with  its  connected  imperial  palaces  and 
temples  around  its  entire  circuit,  and  covering  with 
their  dependent  gardens  and  areas  all  its  surface.  In 
the  Forum  itself,  the  immense  basilica  Julia,  com- 
menced by  Caesar  and  completed  by  Augustus,  and 
the  opposite,  almost  equal  basilica  ^Emilia,  and  be- 
tween them,  and  above  and  below  them,  temples, 
porticoes,  altars,  and  rostra;  and  above,  dominating 
over  all,  on  the  abrupt  high  hill  of  the  Capitol,  the 
resplendent  temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus — all  in  its 
unparalleled  magnificence,  burst  upon  the  view  of 
Paul  the  prisoner! 

But  he  was  not  permitted  long  to  gaze.  Julius 
transferred  his  prisoner  to  the  charge  of  the  Prae- 
torian prefect.  It  has  been  a  question  whether  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  as  the  Praetorian  prefect  is 
called  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  when  Paul  was 
delivered  to  him,  transferred  him  to  the  Praetorian 
camp  without  the  walls,  or  to  the  Prcetorium  con- 
nected with  the  palace.  The  latter  appears  to  me 
the  much  more  probable  opinion.  The  Praetorian 
cohort  was  originally  the  personal  guard,  the  body 
guard  in  modern  phrase,  of  the  emperor;  and  the 
quarters  were  within  the  palace,  or  at  the  entrance 
of  the  palace,  in  a  barrack  called  the  Praetorium. 
Under  Tiberius,  the  Praetorian  soldiers  were  much 
more  numerous  than  under  Augustus,  and  became, 
instead  of  a  body  guard  to  the  emperor,  rather  for 
state  than  for  defense,  the  instrument  of  the  tyrant 
for  holding  the  city  in  subjection,  and  preserving 


76  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

him  from  their  violence  and  revenge.  It  was  then 
that  the  camp  of  the  Praetorians  was  placed  beyond 
the  walls,  hy  the  advice  and  under  the  direction  of 
Sejanus,  then  the  Prsetorian  prefect,  and  the  detest- 
able minister  of  all  the  cruelties  of  the  suspicious 
despot.  But  his  headquarters  were  still  at  the 
palace,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  soldiers  were 
retained  there  for  the  imperial  dignity  and  protec- 
tion. 

The  office  of  Praetorian   prefect   at  the  date  of 
Jv  Paul's  entrance  into  Rome  was  held  by  the  cele- 
\  brated  Burrus.     He  was  one  of  the  few  characters 
in  whom,  during  this  period,  we  can  find  anything 
to  praise.     It  was  due  to  him  and  the  philosopher 
Seneca,  who  had  been  Zero's  tutor,  who  were  his 
chief  ministers  and  advisers,  that  the  early  part  of 
the  reign  of  Nero  was  as  mild  and  just  as  his  pri- 
ivate  life  was  contemptible  and  atrocious.     We  may 
.account  for  the  kind  treatment  which  St.  Paul  re- 
ceived, and  for  the  privilege  which  he  enjoyed  of 
living  in  his  own  hired  house,  to  the  personal  char- 
acter of  Burrus. 

If  then  St.  Paul  was  transferred  to  the  Prcetorium 
of  the  palace,  as  we  can  scarcely  doubt,  then  we  are 
able,  with  great  probability,  to  fix  its  precise  posi- 
tion.    At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  directly  beneath  the 
(site  of  the  palaces  of  Augustus  and  Tiberius,  and 
I  connected  with  them,  there   has   been   uncovered 
'  within  a  few  years  a  portion  of  what  antiquarians 
generally  agree  in  considering  the  quarters  of  the 
Prcetorium  of  the  palace.     One  of  its  porticoes  has 
been  reconstructed  in  part,  from  the  fragments  of 
the  former   portico,  in  order  to  show  its  original 
form.     Everything   connected  with  it  is  similar  to 


ST.  PxlUL    IN    ROME.  77 

the  Prsetorium  disclosed  at  Pompeii,  and  at  other 
places,  and  seems  to  have  been  constructed  with  the 
magnificence  appropriate  to  its~imperial  use.  That 
which  gives  it  a  peculiar  interest,  and  enables  us,  as 
it  were,  to  reproduce  the  scene  of  Paul's  introduc- 
tion to  these  quarters,  is  the  fact  that  OE  the  plaster 
of  the  walls  there  remain  the  names  of  several  sol- 
diers, some  rudely  scratched  as  by  an  illiterate  hand, 
and  others  more  carefully  cut  out  in  larger  letters. 
We  fancy  that  we  can  see  one  of  these  idle  soldiers 
while  on  guard  thus  whiling  away  his  time,  turning 
to  look,  and  placing  himself  suddenly  in  position  in 
the  soldier's  attitude,  with  his  arms  in  hand,  as  the 
centurion  arrives  with  his  prisoner  and  his  little  squad 
of  military  attendants,  and  his  group  of  Christian 
friends,  and  the  message  was  sent  up  to  Burrus  for 
direction  as  to  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the 
prisoner.  Who  knows,  I  said  to  myself,  as  I  visited 
the  scene,  but  that  as  he  sat  upon  tjie  stone  benches 
of  the  barracks,  waiting  to  hear  whether  he  was  to 
be  cast  into  prison,  or  whether  his  friends  might  be 
permitted  to  receive  him  with  the  Roman  soldier  to 
whom  he  was  chained, — who  knows  but  St.  Paul's 
eye  may  have  wandered  vaguely  over  these  very 
scrawls  which  we  now  see ! 

"Paul  was  permitted  to  dwell  by  himself  with  a 
soldier  that  kept  him !"  "A  soldier  that  kept  him !" 
How  suggestive  is  this  record!  It  was  in  chains 
that  St.  Paul  preached  the  free  and  emancipating 
Gospel.  It  was  a  captive  at  Rome  that  proclaimed 
liberty  to  those  that  bound  him.  At  his  subsequent 
visit  to  Rome,  he  writes  to  Timothy  that  he  suffers 
as  an  evil-doer  even  unto  bonds ;  but  he  adds,  by  a 
sublime  and  unselfish  turn  of  thought,  "the  word 

10 


78  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

of  G-od  is  not  bound."  In  the  subterranean  of  the 
Church  of  Santa  Maria  via  Lata,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  Paul's  hired  house,  on  the  pillar  to  which 
St.  Paul  is  said  to  have  been  chained,  these  words 
"the  word  of  God  is  not  bound"  are  engraved.  If 
Paul  had  been  chained  to  that  pillar,  it  would  have 
been  an  apt  and  most  expressive  thing  to  have 
placed  upon  it  the  words,  "the  word  of  God  is  not 
bound;"  but  even  then  it  would  have  been  a  singular 
record  for  that  church  to  make,  which  so  carefully 
and  jealously  strives  to  bind  that  Word.  Yet  if 
these  words  are  to  be  set  up  anywhere  by  the  Church 
of  Rome,  it  is  certainly  in  keeping  that  they  should 
be  engraved  in  a  dark  crypt  of  a  church,  which  is 
open  but  once  a  year,  and  seen  only  by  a  few.  To 
have  placed  these  words  in  large  gilt  capitals  upon 
the  forefront  of  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's,  and  over  the 
few  pulpits  from  which  the  year's  accumulated  dust 
is  swept  away  on  Passion  Week,  would  not  have 
been  so  appropriate. 

And  yet  with  St.  Paul  preaching  it  in  bonds,  the 
Word  of  God  was  not  bound.  Its  sound  has  gone 
into  all  the  world.  It  is  thus  through,  and  in  con- 
nection with,  the  sufferings  of  the  preachers  and  the 
churches,  that  the  Word  from  the  beginning  has 
gone  forth  with  the  most  penetrating  and  holy 
power.  And  this  is  after  the  manner  of  the  Master. 
He  was  bound  to  the  accursed  tree,  but  the  words 
which  he  then  uttered  have  gone  forth  through  the 
world  and  through  all  ages;  and  that  dying  testi- 
mony has  been  the  wroiid's  life  and  salvation.  St. 
Paul's  bonds  turngfl  out  to  the  furtherance  of  the 
Gospel ;  for  they  were  known  in  all  the  Prsetorium, 
and  in  all  other  places.  And  when  St.  Paul  reminds 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  79 

the  Thessalonians  that  they  received  the  Word  in 
much  affliction,  and  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  (a  di- 
vine and  singular  conjunction !)  then  he  adds,  "from 
you  sounded  out  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  in  Macedonia 
and  Achaia  and  in  every  place !"  The  Word  of  God 
is  not  bound,  but  set  free  by  the  sufferings  of  its 
teachers  and  preachers.  In  all  straits  and  afflictions 
they  feel  anew  its  power,  and  give  it  forth  more 
fully,  and  their  faith  and  prayer  wins  to  it  the  de- 
monstration of  the  Spirit.  That  Word,  once  in  the 
world,  like  light,  its  emblem,  cannot  be  bound.  It 
is  our  joy  and  comfort  to  believe  that  it  will  reach 
souls  in  many  places  whence  the  effort  is  made  to 
keep  it  out.  Into  the  dark  caverns  of  unbelief  a 
single  ray  will  often  penetrate,  and  reveal  to  the  soul 
its  gloom  and  loss,  at  the  same  time  that  it  tells  of 
the  radiant  source  from  which  it  comes.  Even  in 
churches  that  keep  out  this  pure  light,  or  admit  it 
only  through  stained  mediaeval  glass,  it  will  still 
come  in ;  and  however  the  name  and  the  work  of 
Christ  whom  Paul  preached,  is  covered  and  muffled 
and  subordinated,  there  is  in  that  all-saving  name 
such  an  omnipotence  of  love,  that  it  will  be  to  thou- 
sands, even  thus  in  its  hindered  power,  the  light  of 
life.  The  Word  of  God  is  not  and  cannot  be 
bound. 

Paul's  manacled  hand  pointing  to  the  crucified 
and  bleeding  Jesus !  What  an  affecting  demonstra- 
tion is  this,  that  it  is  liberty  and  joy  and  peace  of  soul, 
which  it  is  the  great  gift  of  the  Gospel  to  bestow, 
and  not  outward  happiness  and  prosperity  and  gain ! 
This  is  the  Gospel,  the  good  n^vs  to  those  who  need 
it.  It  is  joy  in  sorrow.  It  is  comfort  in  affliction. 
It  is  liberty  in  bonds.  It  is  peace  in  tumult.  It  is 


80  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

rejoicing  in  tribulation.  Hence  it  has  been  best 
proclaimed  from  the  midst  of  the  sufferings  which 
it  overcomes.  The  Saviour  announces  it  in  sorrow 
and  humiliation,  and  seals  it  with  his  blood  upon  the 
cross.  The  church  testifies  of  it  in  the  wilderness. 
The  witnesses  prophesy  it  in  sackcloth.  And  it  is 
best  that  we  should  be  in  such  a  world,  while  with 
a  nature  only  sanctified  in  part,  we  are  struggling 
for  spiritual  purity  and  peace.  Prosperity  and  joy 
uninterrupted  would  foster  all  our  earthliness  and 
draw  our  hearts  from  heaven  and  the  holiness  with- 
out which  it  cannot  be  entered.  Hence  our  state  is 
mixed,  and  though  God  gives  us  many  joys,  and 
would  give  us  more  but  for  his  love,  it  is  in  the  full- 
ness of  his  love  that  he  himself  died  upon  the  cross, 
and  often  sends  his  ministering  servants  forth  to 
sow  in  sorrow,  that  they  who  sow  and  they  who  reap 
may  rejoice  together  with  exceeding  joy.  Then  is 
Paul  far  above  our  pity  when  he  enters  Rome  in 
bonds,  and  points,  with  a  manacled  hand,  to  his  cru- 
cified Redeemer ! 


LECTUKE  IY. 

ST.  PAUL  AND  THE  JEWS  IN  ROME. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  Paul  called  the  chief  of  the 
Jews  together:  ani  when  they  ware  coma  together,  he  said  unto 
them,  Men  and  brethren,  though  I  have  committed  nothing  against 
the  people,  or  customs  of  our  fathers,  yet  was  I  delivered  prisoner 
from  Jerusalem  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans. 

Who,  when  they  had  examined  me,  would  have  let  me  go,  because  there 
was  no  cause  of  death  in  me. 

But  when  the  Jews  spake  against  it,  I  was  constrained  to  appeal  unto 
Caesar;  not  that  I  had  aught  to  accuse  my  nation  of. 

For  this  cause  therefore  have  I  called  for  you,  to  see  you,  and  to  speak 
with  you:  because  that  for  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this 
chain. 

And  they  said  unto  him,  We  neither  received  letters  out  of  Judea  con- 
cerning thee,  neither  any  of  the  brethren  that  came  showed  or  spake 
any  harm  of  theo. 

But  we  desire  to  hear  of  thee  what  thou  thinkest :  for  as  concerning 
this  sect,  we  know  that  everywhere  it  is  spoken  against. 

And  when  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  there  came  many  to  him 
into  his  lodging;  to  whom  he  expounded  and  testified  the  kingdom 
of  God,  persuading  them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  out  of  the  prophets,  from  morning  till  evening. 

And  some  believed  the  things  which  were  spoken,  and  some  believed 
not. 

And  when  they  agreed  not  among  themselves,  they  departed,  after 
that  Paul  had  spoken  one  word,  Well  spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias 
the  prophet  unto  our  fathers, 

Saying,  Go  unto  this  people,  and  say,  Hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and 
shall  not  understand;  and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  not  perceive: 

For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of 
hearing,  and  their  eyes  have  they  closed ;  lest  they  should  see  with 

(81) 


82  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand  with  their  heart, 
and  should  be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them. 
Be  it  known  therefore  unto  you,  that  the  salvation  of  God  is  sent  unto 
the  Gentiles,  and  that  they  will  hear  it. — ACTS,  xxviii.  17-28. 

THE  profound  interest  of  St.  Paul  in  his  country- 
men is  seen  in  the  fact,  that  after  he  had  been  in 
Eome  hut  three  days,  he  sent  for  the  chief  of  the 
Jews,  to  speak  to  them  and  explain  to  them  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  arrest.  Abstaining  from  all  crimi- 
nation of  his  brethren  at  Jerusalem,  he  declared: 
"For  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this  chain." 
"  This  chain" — doubtless  the  Apostle  lifted  it  as  he 
spake. 

His  brethren  declared  that  they  had  received  no 
letters  from  Judea  concerning  him ;  and  that  no  Jews 
coming  from  there  had  showed  or  spoken  any  harm 
of  him.  But  they  desired  to  hear  somewhat  of  his 
doctrine;  which  they  candidly  declared  to  him  was 
everywhere  "spoken  against." 

A  day  was  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  many 
came  to  his  lodging;  to  whom  he  expounded  and 
testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them  con- 
cerning Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses  and  out 
of  the  prophets,  from  morning  until  evening. 

It  would  be  an  interesting  thing  to  us  if  we  knew 
where  this  lodging  of  St.  Paul  was,  at  which  he  re- 
ceived the  Jews,  and  spent  the  day  in  this  exposition 
and  testimony.  We  should  visit  it  with  profound 
emotion.  It  seems  a  little  singular  that  there  should 
be  at  Rome  no  authentic  tradition  concerning  the 
fact  of  St.  Paul's  residence  in  it, — a  fact  which  is 
mentioned  in  sacred  Scripture, — and  yet  that  the  tra- 
ditions concerning  him,  which  are  not  mentioned  in 
Scripture,  should  be  superfluously  and  incredibly 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  83 

numerous  and  minute ;  while  concerning  saints  with-, 
out  number,  some  of  whom  never  lived,  we  have  de- 
tails which  are   exceedingly  unimportant,  even   if 
true. 

That  which  is  certain  is,  that  St.  Paul  was  not  re- 
tained in  the  Prsetorium,  nor  sent  to  a  prison  by  the 
captain  of  the  guard;  for  it  is  stated  that  he  "was 
suffered  to  dwell  by  himself  with  a  soldier  that  kept 
him."  (Acts,  xxviii.  16.)  The  soldier  who  kept  him 
was  responsible  with  his  own  life  for  that  of  his  cap- 
tive ;  and  had  his  own  left  hand  chained  to  the  pris- 
oner's right.  Burrus,  the  then  captain  of  the  guard, 
or  Pfsetorian  prefect,  was  one  of  that  better  class  of 
officials,  with  which  ^N"ero,  perhaps  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Seneca,  was  surrounded  in  the  earlier  years 
of  his  reign;  and  he  seems  to  have  treated  Paul  with 
all  the  indulgence  that  his  position  as  a  prisoner  would 
permit.  We  learn  from  Josephus,  that  when  Agrip- 
pa's  imprisonment  at  Rome  was  relaxed,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  have  his  chain  unloosed  at  meals.  The  in- 
cident shows  what  was  the  kind  of  alleviation  which 
it  was  in  the  power  of  Burrus  to  allow. 

Though  Paul  dwelt  by  himself  when  he  addressed 
the  Jews,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  yet  in  his 
own  hired  house,  in  which  he  lived  two  whole  years. 
The  Romish  tradition  indeed  makes  him  to  have  had 
but  one  place  of  sojourn  in  Rome.  But,  apart  from 
the  probability  that  some  of  his  Christian  friends, 
such  as  his  former  hosts,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  might 
have  received  him  or  obtained  a  temporary  lodging 
for  him  until  a  permanent  home  could  be  secured, 
the  phrases  employed  in  the  two  cases  have  a  sig- 
nification which  countenances  the  impression  that  he 
occupied  a  temporary  lodging  before  he  removed  to 


84  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

his  own  hired  house.  One  expression  is  that  he 
dwelt  by  himself;  and  the  other,  that  the  Jews  came 
to  his  lodging.  These  are  general  expressions  which 
might  agree  with  the  supposition  of  a  temporary  rest- 
ing-place; whereas  the  other  is  specific — uhis  own 
hired  house."  Moreover,  the  Italian  translation  ren- 
ders the  word  i '  lodging' ' t  c  albergo, ' '  or  inn.  Wherever 
therefore  it  might  have  been — and  there  is  no  testi- 
mony or  tradition  concerning  this  point — it  probably 
was  not  at  his  own  hired  house  that  St.  Paul  preached 
Jesus  to  the  Jews. 


I.  STATE  OF  THE  JEWS. 

We  have  already  seen  what  was  the  state  of  the 
Jewish  mind  at  Jerusalem.  It  was  probably  some- 
what less  virulent  and  fanatical  at  Rome.  Yet  every- 
thing in  their  recent  history  had  conspired  to  arouse 
an  intense  nationality  of  spirit,  and  a  bigoted  and 
fierce  adherence  to  the  distinctive  doctrines  and  prac- 
tices of  their  religion.  This  feeling,  awakened  at 
first  against  the  Romans,  by  whom  they  were  subju- 
gated and  oppressed,  was  ready  to  flame  out  against 
the  Christians,  as  a  sect  springing  from  themselves 
and  disloyal  to  their  divinely-descended  institutes,  at 
a  crisis  when  fidelity  was  most  required.  Hence 
they  were  ready  to  regard  Christianity  with  peculiar 
abhorrence  and  contempt. 

We  shall  not  be  able  to  comprehend  the  state  of 
Jewish  feeling  at  this  period,  unless  we  contemplate 
the  indignities  and  cruelties  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected  since  the  days  of  Pompey.  It  was  made 
up  of  the  disappointment  of  glowing  hopes  of  na- 
tional glory;  of  a  bewilderment  of  mind  because  of 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  85 

the  failure  of  divine  prophecies,  which  they  were 
sure  they  understood,  and  sure  would  be  accom- 
plished, and  which  were  yet,  in  contradiction  to  theae 
seeming  certainties,  delayed;  of  an  intense  longing 
to  be  revenged;  and  of  the  smothered  rage  of  per- 
fect powerlessness  under  the  giant  grasp  of  Rome. 
The  j  udgments  of  God  began  to  gather  darkly  around 
them.  The  blood  of  the  Crucified,  which  they  had 
invoked  upon  themselves  and  upon  their  children, 
cried  from  Calvary ;  and  retribution  was  now  answer- 
ing the  cry !  And  yet  even  previous  to  the  capture 
of  Jerusalem,  so  cruelly  outraged  had  they  been  in 
all  their  most  sacred  feelings,  that  we  do  not  wonder 
that  they  were  subsequently. driven  to  madness;  and 
we  forget  their  guilt  as  we  think  of  their  unparalleled' 
provocation  and  their  unequaled  woes. 

When  Pompey  returned  from  the  conquest  of} 
Jerusalem,  he  brought  with  him  many  Jewish  cap-' 
tives.  They  came  with  the  recollection  burning  at 
their  heart,  that  the  impious  conqueror  had  profaned  / 
the  holy  of  holies  by  his  presence.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  Jewish  community  at  Rome.  Many 
of  them  became  freedmen  and  wealthy  merchants ; 
and  their  numbers  rapidly  increased.  Csesar  treated 
them  with  his  accustomed  magnanimity;  and  they 
regarded  him  with  enthusiastic  gratitude.  Augustus 
followed  his  example.  Tiberius,  in  the  beginning  of 
his  reign,  showed  them  special  kindness.  But  in  the 
popular  apprehension  they  were  confounded  with  the 
Egyptians,  whose  secret  rites  of  worship  were  the 
object  of  peculiar  obloquy  and  suspicion.  In  the 
fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  when  this  feeling 
ran  high,  four  thousand  Jewish  freedmen  were  im- 
pressed into  the  army  and  sent  to  extirpate  brigand- 

11 


86  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

/age  in  Sardinia.  Tacitus  shows  the  prevailing  Roman 
ifeeling  toward  them,  when  he  coldly  remarks,  that 
'if  they  had  all  perished  by  the  rigor  of  the  winter,  it 
* ,  would  have  been  vile  damnum,  a  small  damage.  The 
incident  shows  that  their  numbers  at  Borne  must  have 
•been,  at  that  time,  large. 

The  causes  of  mutual  hatred,  which  culminated  in 
the  capture  of  Jerusalem  ten  years  later,  were  already 
in  violent  activity.  Caligula's  conduct  was  calcu- 
lated to  lash  them  into  ungovernable  rage.  He  pro- 
claimed himself  a  god,  and  required  that  his  statue 
should  be  everywhere  worshiped.  To  the  Pagans 
it  could  have  been  no  great  grief;  for  between  Ca- 
ligula and  most  of  their  gods,  there  was  not  much  to 
choose  as  to  character  and  as  to  the  benefits  which 
were  looked  for  at  their  hands.  But  the  demand 
was  intolerable  to  the  Jews.  Dead  to  the  spirit  of 
true  religion,  as  holiness  and  love,  they  were  fanatical 
for  rites  and  dogmas.  The  unity  of  God  and  hatred  of 
images, — the  one  was  their  creed,  and  the  other  their 
passion.  Their  faith  and  zeal  were  concentrated  on 
these  two  points;  hence  it  was  inevitable  that  ani- 
mosities and  tumults  should  arise. 

They  began  at  Alexandria,  where  the  Jews  were 
very  numerous,  and  very  cordially  hated.  The 
Egyptians,  who  worshiped  crocodiles  and  serpents, 
had  no  difficulty  in  adding  Caligula  to  the  number 
of  their  gods.  They  demanded  that  the  statue  of 
the  Emperor  should  be  placed  in  the  synagogues  of 
the  Jews.  Resistance  was  made  to  the  demand. 
Tumults  and  seditious  arose.  They  were  declared 
to  be  no  longer  citizens  of  Alexandria,  but  strangers 
and  aliens.  They  were  crowded  into  one  of  the  two 
quarters  which  they  had  before  occupied.  The 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  87 

houses  from  which  they  were  driven  were  sacked. 
Horrible  cruelties  were  exercised  against  them,  and 
multitudes  perished.  All  this  cruelty  was  connived 
at  and  fostered  hy  Flaccus,  the  governor  at  Alexan- 
dria, who  had  the  basest  reasons  for  propitiating  the 
favor  of  Caligula. 

His  example  was  followed  by  Capito,  the  prefect 
at  Jerusalem,  who  erected  there  a  large  altar  to  the 
"god  Cains."     The  Jews  arose  and  demolished  the 
altar.     Capito  wrote  an  account  of  the  affair  to  the 
Emperor,  which  inflamed  his  already  excited  mind 
still  more  against  the  Jews.     The  madman  determ- 
ined that  a  colossal  statue  of  himself,  in  the  char-' 
acter  of  Jupiter  Olympus,  should  be  erected  in  the  j 
Temple  consecrated  to  the  one  Jehovah.    Conscious  • 
of  the  opposition  which  it  would  meet  with  from  the  i 
whole  nation,  he  ordered  an  army  to  be  ready  to  I 
accompany  the   statue,  and  to  carry  the   edict  into 
effect.     Capito  called  the  principal  Jews  together, 
and  endeavored  to  secure  their  peaceable  acquies- 
cence in  this  outrage  against  their  faith  and  feelings. 
It  was  in  vain.     They  answered  him  only  with  the 
most  passionate  expressions  of  grief  and  horror. 

It  is  a  most  painful  page  of  history.  The  whole 
nation  was  roused  to  the  wildest  excitement.  Thou- 
sands of  men,  women,  and  children  abandoned  the 
cities  and  villages  and  the  cultivation  of  the  fields,  in 
order  to  throw  themselves  at  the  feet  of  the  Procon- 
sul Petronius,  to  supplicate  his  mercy  and  his  inter- 
vention in  their  behalf  with  the  Emperor.  The 
narrative  of  the  historian  is  most  affecting. 

Their  troop  was  so  numerous  that  it  spread  over 
all  the  country  like  a  cloud.  They  prostrated  them- 
selves before  him,  and  when  he  ordered  them  to 


< 


88  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

arise,  they  stood  with  their  hands  behind  their  backs, 
their  heads  covered  with  dust,  their  eyes  bathed 
in  tears,  and  one  of  their  old  men  spoke  in  these 
terms:  "We  are  as  you  see  without  arms,  and  we 
are  most  unjustly  accused  of  rebellion.  We  hold 
our  hands  in  a  position  which  proves  that  we  place 
ourselves  defenseless  in  your  hands.  We  have  also 
brought  with  us  our  wives  and  children  that  we  may 
be  saved  or  may  perish  together.  Petronius,  we  are 
peaceful  by  inclination,  and  our  religion  breathes 
only  peace.  When  Caius  became  Emperor,  we 
were  the  first  in  Syria  to  congratulate  him  on  his 
auspicious  accession  to  the  throne.  Our  Temple 
was  the  first  in  which  sacrifices  were  offered  for  his 
prosperity.  Why  then  is  it  the  first  to  have  its 
religious  rites  abolished?  We  will  abandon  our 
houses,  our  cities,  our  goods :  we  are  ready  to  place 
at  your  feet  all  that  we  possess,  and  we  shall  not  feel 
that  we  have  purchased  at  too  dear  a  price  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  purity  of  our  worship.  But,  oh ! 
if  we  cannot  obtain  our  demands,  then  nothing  re- 
mains for  us  but  that  we  should  die,  or  see  an  evil 
more  terrible  to  us  than  death.  We  hear  that  troops 
of  infantry  and  cavalry  are  to  be  led  against  us  if 
we  resist  the  consecration  of  the  statue.  Slaves  are 
not  so  senseless  as  to  resist  the  will  of  their  master. 
We  present  our  neck  to  the  sword.  Kill  us,  immo- 
late us,  cut  us  to  pieces;  we  will  suffer  everything 
without  resistance  and  without  lamentation." 

Petronius  was  moved  by  this  remarkable  national 
demonstration.  He  determined  to  ascertain  if  this 
was  the  general  feeling  of  the  Jews.  Going  to  Ti- 
berias he  found  that  the  same  serene  was  repeated. 
The  pressure  of  prayer  and  importunity  on  the 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  89 

part  of  the  Jews  was  irresistible.     He  delayed  the 
execution  of  the  order,  and  cast  the  blame  of  the 
delay  upon  the  artists,  who  needed  time  for  a  statue 
which  was   to  be  at  the   same   time   colossal   and 
highly  wrought.     He   expressed  his   apprehension 
that  despair  and  frenzy  would  drive  the  Jews  into 
unanimous  rebellion,  and  announced  to  Caius  the 
danger  of  his  contemplated  presence  at  its  inaugu- 
ration.    The  Emperor  was  furious,  and  wrote  back^ 
more  stringent  orders  than  before.     After  a  tempo-  , 
rary  modification  of  the  order  through  the  iuterces-  < 
sion  of  Agrippa,  the  playmate  of  his  boyhood,  the    i 
capricious  Emperor  again  determined  that  the  statue   ! 
should  be  erected,  and  that  he  himself  would  be 
present  at  its   inauguration.     The  assassination  of 
Caligula    alone    prevented    the   execution   of   this/ 
hideous  purpose. 

The  Jews  at  Rome  must  have  fully  shared  with 
their  brethren  at  Jerusalem  the  immense  relief  of 
the  riddance  of  this  monster  from  the  earth.  Yet 
they  were  still  occasionally  subject  to  popular  vio- 
lence and  clamor.  During  the  reign  of  Clau'dius 
many  were  banished  from  the  city.  The  reign  of  i 
Nero,  up  to  the  period  of  Paul's  entrance  into  Rome, \ 
had  been  mild  and  just.  The  Jews  and  Christians,  ' 
who  were  confounded  in  the  popular  apprehension, 
had  been  treated  with  lenity.  Although  the  per- 
sonal character  of  Nero  from  the  beginning  had 
been  base  and  abandoned  in  the  extreme,  yet  the 
first  five  years  of  his  reign,  under  the  influence  of 
Seneca  and  Burrus,  had  been  marked  by  none  of 
the  atrocities  which  have  made  it  supremely  infa- 
mous in  history,  when  having  murdered  his  faithful 
ministers,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  guidance  of 


90  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

eunuchs  and  freedmen,  and  the  licentious  and  atro- 
cious Poppea. 

These  details  are  given  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
how  little  the  Jews  at  that  period  were  prepared,  as 
a  body,  to  receive  a  Messiah,  who  should  only  re- 
lease them  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  not  from 
Roman  bondage. 

II.  TESTIMONY  OF  ST.  PAUL,  AND  ITS  RECEPTION  BY 
THE  JEWS. 

"When  the  day  which  was  fixed  for  the  meeting 
with  the  Jews  arrived,  they  came  in  great  numbers 
to  Paul's  lodgings ;  and  earnestly  and  long  did  he 
plead  with  them.  He  expounded  and  testified  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  persuading  them  concerning 
Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Moses  and  out  of  the 
prophets,  from  morning  till  evening.  Some  be- 
lieved the  things  which  were  spoken,  and  some 
believed  not. 

In  view  of  the  woes  that  were  gathering  over 
them,  and  soon  fell  upon  them,  we  cannot  but  repeat 
the  Saviour's  tender  lamentation:  "If  thou  hadst 
known  in  this  thy  day  the  things  that  belong  unto 
thy  peace !"  A  despised  and  oppressed  people,  with 
no  hope  of  national  restoration,  how  blessed  it 
would  have  been  for  them  in  their  sorrow  if  they 
could  have  realized  their  spiritual  privileges  as  God's 
chosen  people;  as  the  keepers  of  his  oracles;  as  the 
favored  nation  from  whom  Christ,  according  to  the 
flesh,  came;  and  could  have  rejoiced  in  thus  giving 
to  Rome  and  to  the  World  a  greater  boon  than  she 
took  from  them,  when  she  robbed  them  of  national 
liberty  and  life ! 


ST.  PAUL    IN    HOME.  91 


III.  THEIR  JUDICIAL  BLINDNESS. 

But  these  things  were  hidden  from  their  eyes.  A 
few  individuals  believed,  but  as  a  nation  they  re- 
jected their  Redeemer.  A  judicial  blindness,  the 
result  of  long  rebellion  and  resistance  to  miraculous 
testimony  and  miraculous  mercy,  at  length  fell  upon 
them.  Seeing  that  they  would  not  believe  what 
Moses  and  the  prophets  had  written,  St.  Paul,  after 
a  day's  exposition  and  exhortation,  closed  the  inter- 
view with  the  solemn  application  to  them  of  one  of 
the  most  fearful  of  the  prophecies.  "And  when 
they  agreed  not  among  themselves,  they  departed, 
after  that  Paul  had  spoken  one  word,  well  spake  the 
Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias  the  prophet,  unto  our  fathers, 
saying,  Go  unto  this  people  and  say,  Hearing  ye 
shall  hear  and  not  understand;  and  seeing  ye  shall 
see  and  not  perceive ;  for  the  heart  of  this  people  is 
waxed  gross,  and  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  and 
their  eyes  have  they  closed ;  lest  they  should  see  with 
their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand 
with  their  heart,  and  should  be  converted  and  I 
should  heal  them.  Be  it  known  unto  you  that  the 
salvation  of  God  is  sent  unto  the  Gentiles  and  that 
they  will  hear  it."  Here  their  self-induced  con- 
tinued blindness  and  insensibility  to  the  Gospel  is 
foretold,  repeated  in  the  long  ago  previous  language 
of  Isaiah,  in  contrast  to  the  Gentiles  who  would  ac- 
cept it,  and  from  whom  the  Kingdom  of  God  would 
henceforth  be  chiefly  recruited  and  composed. 


92  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

IV.  Tins  BLINDNESS  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THEIR 
DISPERSION  AND  PERSECUTION. 

Now  it  is  to  be  observed  how  closely  this  unbelief 
of  the  Jews  is  connected  in  the  prophecies  with 
their  continued  dispersion  and  oppression  by  the 
nations.  In  the  verses  immediately  succeeding  the 
prophesy  of  Isaiah  quoted  by  St.  Paul,  (Is.  vi.  11, 
12,)  the  prophet  continues:  "Then  said  I,  Lord,  how 
long?  How  long  is  this  judgment  of  impenitence 
and  disbelief  to  continue?"  "And  he  answered, 
Until  the  cities  be  wasted  without  inhabitant,  and 
the  houses  without  man,  and  the  land  be  utterly 
desolate ;  and  the  Lord  have  removed  man  far  away 
and  there  be  a  great  forsaking  in  the  midst  of  the 
land."  Here  the  impenitence,  it  is  declared,  will 
be  of  the  same  duration  as  the  dispersion  of  the 
Jews  and  the  desolation  of  Judea;  as  elsewhere  it 
is  announced  that  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to 
their  own  land,  and  their  conversion  to  Christ,  will 
be  simultaneous.  So  that  the  presence  of  the  Jews 
in  the  Ghetto,  in  wretchedness  and  degradation  and 
oppression,  and  in  an  obstinate  clinging  to  the  faith 
of  their  fathers,  which  no  suffering  and  no  persecu- 
tion can  overcome,  is  not  only  a  fulfillment  on  the 
very  spot  where  the  words  were  uttered  by  St. 
Paul,  of  the  solemn  declaration  of  their  contin- 
ued disbelief,  but  also  of  the  connected  prophecies 
of  their  dispersed,  trampled,  peeled,  stripped,  and 
wretched  state,  during  the  period  of  their  resist- 
ance to  the  Gospel,  with  which  these  prophecies 
/of  disbelief  are  inseparably  associated.  The  poor 
/Jews  of  the  Ghetto  are  more  than  a  wretched  and 
Ipitiable  population.  They  are  a  fulfilled  prophecy. 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME,  ff  or  rjjp- 

They  are  a  proof  of  the  divine  or^gj^a ,  Tl^^  aw  * 
witnesses  to  the  fidelity  of  God 
judgments.     They  are  solemn  warnings 
disbelieve  and  reject  the  testimony  of  God. 

"We  have  been  accustomed  to  refer  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  and  the  judgments  that 
fell  upon  the  nation  in  their  native  land,  and  in 
Babylon,  during  the  captivity,  and  to  their  condi- 
tion among  the  Eastern  nations,  as  the  most  striking 
illustration  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecies. 
And  so  no  doubt  they  are.  These  demonstrations 
are  large  and  conspicuous.  But  there  is  something 
so  peculiar  in  the  tenacity  with  which  a  few  Jews 
have  retained  their  position  arid  life  and  faith  in 
the  City  of  Rome,  amid  poverty  and  persecution 
and  degradation,  in  all  ages,  and  against  the  first  law 
and  the  otherwise  unvarying  policy  of  the  Papacy, — 
there  is  something  so  evidently  supernatural  in  their 
preservation  in  the  midst  of  hostilities  of  govern- 
ment and  society  and  nature  herself,  which  it  seems 
certain  would  have  crushed  out  the  nationality  of  any 
other  people,  that  we  are  made  to  feel  that  though 
not  so  appalling  and  awful  a  demonstration  of  pro- 
phecy as  that  of  Jerusalem,  compassed  with  armies, 
and  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  it  is  yet  as  con- 
vincing to  the  mind,  as  affecting  to  the  heart,  and 
as  admonitory  to  the  conscience.  The  Coliseum,^ 
the  labor  of  captive  Jews,  and  the  Ghetto,  their 
wretched  abode,  speak  to  us  as  impressively  of  the 
truth  and  judgment  of  God  toward  his  disobedient 
and  gainsaying  people,  as  do  Jerusalem  in  her 
lation,  and  the  mosque  upon  the  hill  of  Zion. 

12 


94  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

Y.  CONDITION  OF  THE  JEWS  SINCE  THE  DAYS  OF 
PAUL. 

We  have  seen  something  of  the  state  of  the  Jews 
at  Jerusalem,  in  Judea,  "and  at  Rome,  up  to  the 
period  when  Paul  addressed  them.  Let  us  give 
some  indications  of  their  subsequent  condition  in 
Rome. 

That  it  became  constantly  worse  at  Rome  as  the 
rebellion  in  Judea  became  more  fierce  and  fanatical, 
may  well  be  supposed.  They  seem  already  to  have 
been  driven  out  into  the  valley  of  Egeria,  where 
they  wTere  confined  for  several  centuries.  When 
Juvenal  wrote,  he  refers  to  them  as  a  poor  and  beg- 
garly race,  who  swarmed  under  the  old  trees,  with 
hay  and  mats  as  the  only  substance  in  which  they 
I  trafficked.  Ten  years  after  Paul  addressed  them 
/  they  were  compelled  to  witness  the  triumphal  pro- 
cession  of  Vespasian  and  Titus  into  the  city,  with  the 
I  captives  and  spoils  of  their  conquered  and  desecrated 
city  and  Temple.  It  is  thus  described  by  Josephus : 
"The  day  of  this  proud  pomp  having  arrived,  no 
one  of  the  vast  multitude  of  Rome  was  willing  to 
be  absent  from  it.  The  legions  did  not  wait  for  the 
dawn  to  commence  their  march.  They  resorted  in 
magnificent  array  to  the  doors  of  the  Temple  of 
Isis,  where  the  Emperor  Vespasian  and  his  son 
Titus  had  passed  the  night;  and  the  sun  had  but 
begun  to  brighten  the  horizon  when  the  two  Empe- 
rors issued  forth  crowned  with  laurels  and  clothed 
with  purple.  The  senate,  the  knights,  and  the  prin- 
cipal men  of  the  republic  awaited  them  near  the 
portico  of  Octavia.  A  stage  had  been  erected  there 
with  two  thrones  of  ivory.  When  the  emperors 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  95 

were  seated,  the  soldiers  began  to  celebrate  their  ex- 
ploits, of  which  they  had  been  witnesses,  and  to  ac- 
knowledge how  much  they  owed  to  their  bravery. 
Vespasian  modestly  silenced  them,  and  then  arose, 
and  covering  his  head  in  part  with  his  mantle,  as 
did  Titus  also,  offered  the  usual  prayers  and  vows. 
Then  they  marched  to  the  Triumphal  Gate,  so  called 
because  it  is  the  only  one  through  which  the  trium- 
phal processions  pass. 

"It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  magnificence  of  ^ 
this  august  pomp.  The  captives  themselves  had  been 
clothed  with  so  much  care,  and  in  such  a  variety  of 
modes,  that  the  sadness  imprinted  upon  their  coun- 
tenance was  scarcely  observed.  But  nothing  ex- 
cited so  much  admiration  in  the  spectators  as  those 
structures,  sometimes  three  or  four  stories  high,  on 
which  were  painted,  with  marvelous  fidelity,  the 
most  important  incidents  of  the  war.  There  were 
seen  the  most  beautiful  provinces  ravaged,  entire 
troops  of  soldiers  cut  to  peices,  cities  carried  by  as- 
sault, and  the  population  given  up  to  slaughter,  even 
those  who  had  no  other  weapons  than  stones.  There 
were  seen  the  temples  burning;  the  owners  of  hab- 
itations crushed  beneath  them,  and  horrible  cruelties 
by  fire  and  sword.  All  these  things  the  Jews  hadX 
suffered. 

"Then  followed  several  ships,  and  amid  many\ 
other  spoils,  those  which  had  been  taken  from  the  1 
Temple  in  Jerusalem ;  the  table  of  gold,  whose  weight  f 
was  many  talents,  and  the  golden  candlestick,  a  mas- 
ter-piece of  art.     From  its  base  rose  a  column,  and  / 
from  this  column  issued,  like  the  branches  of  a  tree,  * 
seven  hollow  tubes,  at  the  end  of  each  of  which  there 
was  a  lamp ;   and  last  a  copy  of  the  Jewish  law,  i 


yb  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

which,  more  than  anything  else  in  the  world  the 
Jews  reverence,  closed  this  magnificent  exposition 
of  all  the  rich  spoils  conquered  by  the  Romans. 

"  The  triumph  closed  at  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Cap- 
itolinus,  where  they  paused  according  to  custom, 
until  the  moment  when  the  death  of  the  chief  of 
their  enemies  had  been  announced.  This  chief  was 
Simon,  the  son  of  Gioras.  After  having  appeared 
in  the  triumph,  with  the  other  captives,  he  had  been 
drawn  with  a  cord  about  his  neck,  beaten  with  rods, 
and  executed  in  the  Forum.  After  his  death  had 
been  announced,  and  the  people  testified  their  joy 
by  loud  applause,  sacrifices,  accompanied  by  prayers 
and  vows,  were  offered.  The  emperors  returned  to 
their  palace,  where  a  great  feast  was  provided. 
Other  feasts  were  held  all  over  the  city." 

Since  that  period  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in 
Rome  has  been  one  of  extreme  contempt,  degradation , 
persecution,  and  wretchedness,  both  under  Pagan 
and  Christian  rule.  The  classic  writers  allude  to 
them  only  to  express  abhorrence  and  disdain.*  To 
hate  the  race  that  murdered  our  blessed  Lord- 
though  he  died  for  them  as  well  as  by  them — was 
considered  by  Christians  rather  a  duty  than  a  sin. 
When  the  church,  escaping  from  persecution,  had 
learned  no  better  lesson  than  to  persecute  in  turn  all 
heresy  and  unbelief,  it  visited  the  obstinate  infidelity 
of  the  Jews  with  relentless  cruelty.  They  were 
looked  upon  as  a  race  accursed  of  God,  because  of 

*  Juvenal  speaks  of  them,  as  English  writers  of  three  centuries 
ago  speak  of  the  gypsies.  Seneca  calls  them  " scelleratissima gens," — a 
most  wicked  race,  scattered  over  all  the  world.  Tacitus,  compelled 
to  testify  to  the  spiritual  purity  of  their  religion,  denounces  their  ex- 
clusiveness  as  hatred  to  all  other  nations. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  97 

the  crucifixion  of  the  Saviour.  They  were  believed 
to  be  reserved  by  miracle  as  a  witness  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God  upon  them.  While  no  other  form  of  f 
unbelief  or  dissent  was  tolerated  in  Rome  for  ages,  ! 
they  have  been  permitted  to  remain,  because,  as  it  is 
stated  in  a  bull  of  one  of  the  Popes,  they  gave  Christ 
to  the  world;  and  because  they  were  believed  to  be 
reserved  to  live  and  suffer  in  the  world,  as  an  in- 
stance of  judgment  for  having  crucified  him  who  was 
both  their  Saviour  and  their  brother.  To  have  ex- 
terminated or  banished  them  would  have  been  in 
their  view  to  have  interfered  with  God's  plans  of 
judgment.  To  have  allowed  them  to  live  otherwise 
than  in  wretchedness  and  persecution,  a  by-word  and 
a  hissing,  to  be  mocked,  and  spit  upon,  and  trampled, 
would  have  been  an  equal  resistance  of  the  purposes 
of  God.  Hence  those  fearful  descriptions  in  the  pro- 
phets, of  their  peeled,  and  stripped,  and  despised, 
and  wretched  condition,  when  dispersed  among  the  j 
nations,  have  received  in  Home  perhaps  their  most  / 
striking  exemplification. 

As  the  Jews  are  not  citizens  of  Rome,  they  have 
had  no  rights  to  be  protected;  and  hence  have  always 
been  subjected  not  only  to  the  most  vexatious  and 
cruel  oppression  from  the  government,  but  to  every 
species  of  unredressed  outrage  on  the  part  of  the 
people.  This  license  to  wound  their  feelings,  and 
insult  and  wrong  them  without  redress,  has  been  the 
most  constant  and  bitter  portion  of  their  misery. 
Social  persecution,  and  personal  indignities  and  con- 
tempts are  hotter,  and  sharper,  and  more  poisoned 
swords  for  the  soul  than  legal  disabilities.  The  great 
Master  of  human  passion  has  expressed  the  horribly 
bitter  and  revengeful  spirit  which  this  persecution 


98  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

must  of  necessity  have  engendered  in  those  Jewish 
hearts,  out  of  which  all  manhood  had  not  been 
crushed.  Only  one  Shy  lock  has  spoken ;  hut  thou- 
sands of  them  have  lived,  not  only  in  Venice,  hut  as 
well  doubtless  in  the  Ghetto ;  and  he  has  spoken  for 
them  all. 

"Seignior  Antonio,  many  a  time  and  oft, 
In  the  Rialto,  you  have  rated  me 
About  my  moneys  and  my  usances. 
Still  have  I  borne  it  with  a  patient  shrug; 
For  suffei'ance  is  the  badge  of  all  my  tribe. 
You  call  me  misbeliever,  cut -throat  dog! 
And  spit  upon  my  Jewish  gabardine, 
And  all  for  use  of  that  which  is  mine  own. 
Well  then,  it  now  appears  you  need  my  help. 
Go  to,  then;  you  come  to  me  and  you  say: 
Shylock,  we  would  have  moneys;  you  say  so; 
You,  that  did  void  your  rheum  upon  my  beard, 
And  foot  me,  as  you  spurn  a  stranger  cur 
Over  your  threshold;  moneys  is  your  suit. 
What  shall  I  say  to  you  ?     Should  I  not  say, 
Hath  a  dog  money?     Is  it  possible 
A  cur  can  lend  three  thousand  ducats?  or 
Shall  I  bend  low,  and  in  a  bondman's  key, 
With  bated  breath,  and  whispering  humbleness, 
Say  this: — 

'Fair  sir,  you  spit  on  me  on  Wednesday  last; 
You  spurned  me  such  a  day;  another  time 
You  called  me  dog!  and  for  these  courtesies 
I'll  lend  you  thus  much  moneys  ?'  " 

No  douht  this  is  a  true  picture  of  the  treatment  to 
which  Jews  in  all  Italy,  and  especially  in  Rome,  were 
for  ages  subjected;  and  of  the  feelings  of  smothered 
bitterness  and  rage  which  sometimes  found  expres- 
sion when  their  moneys  were  needed  to  extricate 
bankrupt  merchants,  or  spendthrift  patricians,  from 
embarrassment  or  ruin. 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  99 

The  persecutions  and  outrages  suffered  by  the  Jews 
were  so  extreme  that  the  Popes  sometimes  felt  con- 
strained to  intervene  for  their  protection.    The  Con- 
stitutions of  Martin  Y.  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  a  bull  of  Pius  IV.  toward  the  close  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  a  brief  of  Sixtus  Y.  still  later, 
considerably  mitigate  the  hardships  to  which  they 
were  exposed.    But  they  were  effectually  neutralized 
by  the  edicts  of  other  Pontiffs.     The  bull  of  Pius  Y., 
in  1566,  is  full  of  degrading  and  vexatious  restrictions 
and  regulations.    It  prescribes  articles  of  dress  which 
mark  them  as  a  proscribed  race ;  it  puts  a  limit  to 
the  amount  of  property  which  they  may  be  permitted 
to  hold;  and  forbids  them  to  receive  Christians  into 
their  families.     The  bulls  of  Clement  YJIL,  in  1593, 
which  have  never  been  repealed,  are  cruel  in  the  ex- 
treme.    One  drives  them  from  all  the  cities  of  the\ 
States  of  the  Church,  except  Rome,  Ancona,  andy 
Aunione.     In  this  bull,  they  are  accused  of  grievous 
crimes,  and  especially  of  usury.     If  within  a  certain 
period  a  Jew  was  found  in  any  other  than  the  three 
designated  places,  all  his  possessions  were  to  revert 
to  the  government.    A  sweeping  clause  revokes  posi- 
tively and  absolutely  every  provision  made  by  pre- 
vious Popes  in  their  favor.     The  whole  tone  of  the 
document  is  savage  and  relentless.     It  was  followed 
in  a  few  days  by  another  which  prohibited  the  Jews 
from  retaining  the  Talmud,  or  any  other  of  their 
sacred  books  except  the  Bible.    And  this  provision,  \ 
I  understand,  has  never  been  repealed.     The  Jews  \ 
here  have  no  records  even  of  their  own  history.  They  T  . 
are  not  permitted  to  possess  vindications  or  exposi-    j 
tions  of  Judaism;   for  those  would  be  considered  J 
attacks  upon  Christianity  and  Catholicism. 


100  ST.  PAUL   IN    EOME. 

From  this  reference  to  some  of  the  severe  enact- 
ments of  the  Papacy,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  condition 
of  the  Jews  in  Rome  is  wretched  indeed.    The  Popes 
have  constantly,  in  all  the  ages  past,  enforced  pecuni- 
ary exactions  and  loans.     The  Jews  have  been  sub- 
jected to  acts  of  the  most  degrading  servility.    They 
have  been  compressed  into  close  and  unwholesome 
quarters.    Their  industry  has  been  crippled  in  every 
direction.    They  have  been  driven  from  many  towns 
in  the  Papal  States.     They  have  been  forbidden  to 
apply  for  aid  or  protection  to  the  constituted  authori- 
ties.    They  have  been  forced  to  attend  sermons  com- 
posed to  convert  them,    and  filled  with  the  most 
dreadful  denunciations  against  them.     They  have 
f  not  been  permitted  to  exercise  any  trade  or  art,  but 
1  only  traffic;  nor  to  live,  nor  to  have  shops  outside  of 
xthe  Ghetto;  nor  to  have  the  benefit  of  any  of  the 
institutions  of  the  city  for  the  relief  of  suffering; 
their  children  were  not  permitted  to  be  taught  with 
Christians,  nor  could  a  Jew  teach  Christians.     They 
could  not  be  servants  to  Christians,  nor  employ  them 
f  as  servants.     When  all  these  disabilities,  indignities, 
i  and  oppressions  were  explained  to  me  in  detail  by 
J  an  intelligent  Jew,  I  felt  the  full  force  of  his  remark, 
and  at  the  same  time  sadly  felt  that  he  did  not  per- 
j  ceive  his  unconscious  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the 
j  sacred  oracles,  when  he  declared  that  the  preservation 
of  the  Jews  in  Rome  was  a  miracle. 

The  humiliations  to  which  they  have  been  sub- 
jected have  been  unspeakable.  Not  until  the  reign 
of  the  present  Pope,  who  has  kindly  mitigated  many 
of  the  sufferings  and  removed  some  of  the  indigni- 
ties to  which  they  have  been  subjected,  were  they  re- 
lieved from  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  Carnival . 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  101 

And  worse  than  this  were  the  Jewish  races  in  the 
Corso,  at  the  Carnival,  for  the  amusement  of  the 
people.  Not  only  the  fleet  and  young,  hut  decrepit 
old  men  and  women,  after  heing  made  to  drink  to 
intoxication,  were  compelled  to  furnish  brutal  pastime 
to  a  degraded  and  scoffing  population.  Pope  Bene- 
dict XIV.,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  substi- 
tuted horses  without  riders ;  but  the  Jews  were  com- 
pelled to  pay  eight  hundred  crowns  for  the  substitu- 
tion. The  sum  was  carried  with  great  parade  to  the 
senator,  who  dismissed  them  with  indignity;  and 
then  it  was  taken  by  them  to  one  of  the  city  com- 
missioners, with  the  humble  request  that  they  might 
be  permitted  to  reside  in  Rome  one  year  longer. 
This  humiliation  is  now  spared  them.  From  another, 
however,  they  have  not  been  exempted.  At  the  ac- 
cession of  a  new  Pope,  the  deputies  of  the  Jews  place 
themselves  in  the  path  of  the  holy  father,  near  the 
arch  of  Titus,  and  present  to  him  the  Jewish  scrip- 
tures, saying,  "We  beg  permission  to  offer  to  your 
Holiness  a  copy  of  our  law."  The  Pope  accepts  it, 
saying,  "Excellent  law!  Detestable  race!"  A  little 
church  is  planted  at  the  entrance  of  the  Ghetto,  on 
which  is  inscribed  the  text  of  Isaiah — "Alt  the  day 
long  have  I  stretched  forth  my  hand  to  a  disobedient 
and  gainsaying  people."  In  this  church,  and  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Angelo,  in  Pescheria,  three  hundred 
Jewish  men  and  fifty  Jewish  women  were  compelled 
to  assemble  every  Sunday,  to  hear  a  sermon  which 
was  intended  for  their  conversion.  The  number, 
was  usually  complete,  because  the  Jewish  commu- 
nity was  compelled  to  pay  three  pauls  for  every 
absentee. 

Although  some  Of  the  Popes  have  shown  them- 

13 


102  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

selves  mild  and  tolerant,  yet  no  changes  for  the  bet- 
ter have  been  made  in  the  existing  laws.     Pius  VII. 
treated  the  Jews  with  unusual  kindness,  but  he  never 
revoked  the  pontifical  constitution  which  imposed 
severe  restrictions  and  disabilities  upon  the  Jews. 
They  might  at  any  moment  be  put  in  force.     They 
had  no  security  therefore  that  their  comparatively 
happy  state  under  this  pontiff  would  continue.  Their 
temporary  toleration  was  largely  due  to  French  in- 
fluence. Indeed,  during  the  French  occupation,  from 
^X>/1809  to  1814,  they  were  placed  on  the  same  footing 
Vas  other  citizens.     Subsequent  to  this  period,  under 
the  same  Pope,  they  were  permitted  to  have  shops 
outside  of  the  Ghetto ;  and  in  some  cases  their  fami- 
lies lived  where  their  business  was  conducted.    They 
were  allowed  to  traffic  in  towns  and  boroughs  of  the 
States  of  the  Church  without  being  obliged  as  form- 
erly to  provide  themselves  with  a  license  from  the 
Inquisition.     Many  of  them  were  permitted  to  pur- 
\  chase  real  estate.     They  were  not  forced  to  attend 
-  *  preachings  until  near  the  time  of  the  death  of  Pius 
VII.,  in  1823,  when  this  was  again  made  obligatory 
by  an  edict  of  Cardinal  della  Genza,  afterward  his 
successor  under  the  name  of  Leo  XII.    He  restored 
most  of  the  severe  regulations  of  Paul  IV.,  of  Pius 
V.,  and  of  Clement  VIII.     Then  followed  the  pau- 
perization and  ruin  of  the  Jews.     From  that  period 
they  have  suffered  evils  of  every  kind ;  privations  and 
impediments  in  business;   losses  in  trade;  greatly 
diminished  numbers;  depression,  hopelessness,  and 
inability  to  struggle  against  the  fatal  accumulation  of 
difficulties  under  which  they  groan.     Gregory  XVI. 
softened  some  of  the  regulations  of  his  predecessor. 
The  kindness  of  the  present  Pope — who  has  removed 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  103 

the  gates  that  shut  them  within  the  Ghetto  at  night, 
remitted  the  expense  of  the  Carnival,  and  ceased  to 
compel  their  attendance  on  preachings — has  come 
too  late  to  afford  them  true  relief.  They  seem  to  the 
eye  of  sense  to  be  wasting  away  in  hopeless  poverty 
and  wretchedness ;  and  yet  still  survive  with  a  tena- 
cious dying  life  which  tells  us  at  once  how  much 
they  suffer  for  the  past,  and  how  surely  they  are  re- 
served  for  a  glorious  future. 

Their  present  condition  is  indeed  deplorable,  and 
well  calculated  to  awaken  profound  pity  in  their 
behalf.  Since  1842  the  Jewish  population  has  di- 
minished from  12,700  to  a  little  more  than  4000. 
This  diminution  arises  chiefly  from  emigration.  It 
commenced  in  1814,  when  many  who  enjoyed  a 
good  position  during  the  French  occupation,  left 
the  city  on  the  re-establishment  of  the  Pontifical 
Government.  Others  followed  on  the  publication 
of  the  rigorous  orders  by  Leo  XII. ,  in  1824  and 
1825.  Others  left  in  1850,  after  the  return  of  the 
present  pontiff  from  Geeta,  when  it  was  feared  that 
all  their  old  unrepealed  disabilities  were  about  to 
be  enforced.  These  emigrations  still  continue,  and 
are  very  disastrous  to  the  population  that  remain. 
Those  who  emigrate  are  generally  the  most  pros- 
perous portion  of  the  community.  About  3000  oft 
the  4000  that  now  remain  in  Rome  are  described/ 
to  me,  by  a  competent  authority,  as  excessively/ 
poor.*  The  proportion  of  the  poor  increases  as 
the  number  of  those  who  can  aid  them  diminishes. 
Thus  the  forced  contributions,  (some  of  which  still 
continue,)  the  expenses  of  their  five  synagogues,  the 

*  A  collection  was  made  for  the  Jews  when  this  discourse  was 
preached. 


104  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

aid  required  for  the  infirm  and  sick,  now  fall  on  a 
few  persons  of  limited  means.  It  would  seem  as  if, 
but  for  occasional  contributions  from  their  wealthy 
brethren  in  other  cities,  some  of  them  would  perish. 
When  we  remember  that  they  are  permitted  to  exer- 
cise no  trade  but  that  of  tailoring ;  that  they  have 
no  relief  from  public  institutions;  that  immense  im- 
pediments in  the  way  of  trade  place  them  at  every 
disadvantage ;  that  they  are  not  accepted  as  servants ; 
that  their  wretched  quarter  is  most  uninviting  as  a 
place  to  which  to  resort  for  making  purchases,  and 
that  it  is  damp  and  unwholesome,  and  liable  to  in- 
undations from  the  overflow  of  the  Tiber,  it  will 
readily  be  seen  that  their  condition  must  indeed  be 
wretched.  I  am  sure  that  I  do  but  give  you  an  op- 
portunity to  exercise  the  charity  to  which  you  are 
already  prompted,  when  I  ask  you  to-day  to  con- 
tribute to  the  relief  of  the  sufferings  of  poor  and  in- 
firm Jews  during  this  rigorous  winter. 
,  It  is  creditable  to  a  people  whose  position  is  one 
;of  so  many  disabilities, — one  calculated  to  stir  up 
•so  much  evil  in  the  heart, — that  there  is  very  little 
crime  among  them.  The  number  of  those  who  are 
imprisoned  is  small.  It  is  generally  for  very  slight 
often ses  that  they  are  committed.  The  crimes  of 
murder,  assassination,  forgery,  and  felony  are  un- 
known among  them. 

That  the  efforts  which  are  made  to  convert  them 
to  Romanism  are  not  successful,  is  not  surprising.  We 
know  that  love,  and  not  persecution,  is  the  great 
means  to  draw  men  to  Him  who  is  incarnate  love. 
'Moreover,  the  one  sin  which  the  Jews  believe  to 
'transcend  all  other  sins  is  idolatry.  They  believe 
vthat  Romanism  is  a  system  of  idolatry;  and  hence 


ST.  PAUL   IN   HOME.  105 

fe 

ages  of  attendance  on  the  preachings  intended  for 
their  conversion  have  been  utterly  without  effect. 
When  the  present  pontiff  dispensed  the  Jews  from 
attending  the  services,  and  sent  a  converted  Jew  to 
preach  to  them,  the  experiment  failed.  The  church 
was  empty. 

It  is  a  melancholy  picture  which  we  have  sketched. 
It  is  part  of  that  doom,  the  view  of  which  through 
the  vista  of  centuries  called  forth  melodious  lamenta- 
tions from  the  tender  spirit  of  Jeremiah.  "All  her 
people  sigh,  they  seek  bread;  they  have  given  their 
pleasant  things  for  meat  to  relieve  their  soul;  see, 
oh  Lord,  and  consider,  for  I  have  become  vile.  Is  it 
nothing  to  you  all  ye  that  pass  by?  Behold  and  see 
if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow,  which 
is  done  unto  me,  wherewith  the  Lord  hath  afflicted 
me  in  the  day  of  his  fierce  anger.  The  yoke  of  my 
transgressions  is  bound  by  his  hand;  they  are 
wreathed  and  come  up  upon  my  neck.  He  hath 
made  my  strength  to  fail.  The  Lord  hath  delivered 
me  into  their  hands,  from  whom  I  am  not  able  to 
look  up.  For  these  things  I  weep.  Mine  eye,  mine 
eye  runneth  down  with  water  because  the  comforter 
that  should  relieve  my  soul  is  far  from  me." 

1.  But  this  is  not  always  to  be  their  doom.  They 
are  never  to  cease  their  existence  as  a  nation, — for 
God  has  said  that  only  "when  the  ordinances  of  day 
and  night  fail  shall  the  seed  of  Israel  cease  to  be  a 
nation  before  him," — but  their  humiliation  has  an 
appointed  end.  The  preserved  remnant  of  the  Jews 
shall  be  restored  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  accept  their 
long  rejected  Messiah,  and  again  live  and  thrive 
under  the  smile  of  God.  "The  remnant  that  is  es- 
caped of  the  house  of  Judah  shall  again  take  root 


t 
106  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

downward  and  bear  fruit  upward."  (Is.  xxxvii.  31.) 
"  Behold,  I  will  gather  them  out  of  all  countries ;" — 
"And  I  will  cause  the  captivity  of  Israel  and  the 
captivity  of  Judah  to  return,  and  will  build  them 
as  at  the  first."  (Jer.  xxxii.  37,  xxxiii.  7.)  "But  fear 
not  thou,  oh  my  servant  Jacob,  and  be  not  thou  dis- 
mayed, oh  Israel,  for  behold  I  will  save  thee  from  far 
off,  and  thy  seed  from  the  land  of  thy  captivity ;  and 
Jacob  shall  return  and' be  at  rest  and  ease,  and  none 
shall  make  him  afraid."  So  speaks  God  through 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah.  And  that  this  restoration  to 
their  own  land,  and  this  blessing  from  God  will  be 
connected  with  their  conversion  to  Christ,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  they  are  under  a  judgment  only  so 
long  as  they  disbelieve.  When  they  shall  be  blessed 
it  will  be  because  they  shall  have  ceased  to  be  unbe- 
lieving and  disobedient.  St.  Paul's  eleventh  chapter 
to  the  Romans  unfolds  not  only  their  restoration  to 
God's  favor,  but  the  pre-eminent  privileges  which 
will  belong  to  thejn  as  God's  first  kingdom.  They  are 
the  original  olive  tree ;  we,  a  wild  olive  tree,  have 
been  "grafted  in  among  them;"  the  root  of  the 
original  tree  survives  alive.  The  life  of  the  engrafted 
tree  will  again  be  received  through  it;  for,  says  the 
Apostle,  after  having  used  this  illustration-— "  For  I 
would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of 
this  mystery,  (lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  own 
conceits,)  that  blindness  in  part  has  happened  unto 
Israel,  until  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in. 
And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved.  As  it  is  written,  there 
shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  deliverer,  and  shall  turn 
away  ungodliness  from  Jacob."  For,  as  he  had  said 
/above,  "If  the  casting  away  of  them  be  the  recon- 
\ciling  of  the  world — that  is,  the  bringing  in  of  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  107 

Gentiles — what  shall  the  receiving  of  them  be  but 
life  from  the  dead?" 

2.  Hence,  although  the  dispersion  and  persecu- 
tion and  misery  of  the  Jews  is  God's  judgment  on 
their  obstinate  impenitency  and  unbelief,  we  must 
not  feel  that  we  are  called  upon  to  be  the  agents  of 
that  judgment,  and  either  to  oppress  them  or  to  leave 
them  to  suffer  in  cold  indifference,  as  if  to  relieve 
them  and  to  strive  to  do  them  good  would  be  a  pre- 
sumptuous attempt  to  turn  aside  or  thwart  God's 
awful  retribution.  On  the  contrary,  God  denounces 
his  wrath  on  those  who  afflict  his  people.  Mark  how 
emphatic  is  His  language  in  Zephaniah:  "Behold  at 
that  time" — the  time  of  her  restoration — "I will  undo 
all  that  afflict  thce ;  and  I  will  save  her  that  halteth, 
and  gather  her  that  was  driven  out;  and  I  will  give 
them  praise  and  fame  in  every  land  where  they  have 
been  put  to  shame."  (Zeph.  iii.  19.)  We  should 
share  the  tender  spirit  of  St.  Paul  toward  them. 
We  should  see  in  now  wretched  Israel  a  discrowned 
queen,  who  is  again  to  resume  her  scepter  and  her 
throne.  We  should  treat  her  with  pitying  honor. 
We  should  aid  her  with  a  sense  of  privilege.  We 
should  remember  her  glorious  past,  and  her  more 
glorious  future.  We  should  not  forget  that  of  them, 
according  to  the  flesh,  our  Saviour  and  their  Saviour 
came.  If  they  are  the  children  of  those  who  in- 
voked and  called  down  the  guilt  of  the  blood  of  the 
Son  of  God  upon  themselves  and  upon  their  child- 
ren, we  must  not  forget  that  that  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,  even  that  unspeakable  sin,  and  was 
shed  for  them  in  love,  though  by  them  in  hatred,  and 
that  it  cries  from  the  ground,  not  to  invoke  upon 
them  a  vengeance  which  shall  be  inexorable,  but  to 


108  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

plead  with  them  to  yield  and  live.  Its  language  is, 
"  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
yet  they  shall  be  as  wool."  Those  judgments  are 
themselves  a  part  of  that  instrumentality  of  mercy 
by  which  at  last  they  shall  hail  Jesus  as  their  Mes- 
siah, and  go  up  to  restored  Zion  with  everlasting 
joy  upon  their  heads. 

God's  already  executed  judgments  upon  sinning 
Israel  solemnly  warn  us  that  all  his  threatenings  will 
be  fulfilled,  and  that  unrepented  sin  must  incur  its 
eternal  penalty.  His  promised  restoration  of  peni- 
tent Israel  tenderly  assures  us  that  his  mercy  and 
patience  are  infinite,  and  that  Christ  is  able  to  save 
unto  the  uttermost,  and  that  his  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.  Let  us  heed  both  these  lessons,  and 
turn  to  Him  and  live ! 


LECTURE  Y. 

ST.  PAUL   IN  HIS  OWN   HIRED   HOUSE. 

And  Paul  dwelt  two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired  house,  and  received 
all  that  came  in  unto  him ; 

Preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  teaching  those  things  which 
concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  confidence,  no  man  for- 
bidding him. — ACTS,  xxviii.  30,  31. 

A  TRADITION  preserved  in  the  Roman  Church 
points  out  the  site  of  St.  Paul's  hired  house.  It  is  a 
tradition  which  one  would  wish  to  be  able  to  believe. 
It  belongs  to  that  kind  of  tradition  which  is  the  least 
likely  to  be  untrue.  As  St.  Paul  certainly  resided 
in  Rome,  it  would  not  -have  been  strange  if  Chris- 
tian affection  and  respect  had  faithfully  transmitted 
from  age  to  age  the  memory  of  the  place  of  his 
abode. 

The  subterranean  chapel  of  the  Church  St.  Maria 
ViaLaia  is  indicated  as  the  site  of  Paul's  hired  house, 
on  the  authority  of  a  tradition  which  is  traced  no 
higher  than  to  St.  Jerome.  He,  however,  only  men- 
tions that  his  house  was  on  the  Via  Lata.  Later 
tradition  fixes  it  at  the  site  of  St.  Maria.  The  Via 
Lata  started  from  the  Capitol,  and  issuing  from  the 
then  wall  of  Rome,  near  the  present  piazza  Ye- 
nezia,  traversed  the  Campus  Martius  on  the  line  of 
the  modern  Corso.  If  tradition  had  pointed  out 
some  site  within  the  walls,  near  the  Capitol,  it  would 

14  (109) 


110  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

-have  been  readily  accepted.  But  the  Church  St. 
\Maria  Via  Lata  is  in  the  then  Campus  Martins,  in 
( which  there  were  baths,  porticoes,  sepulchers,  col- 
^onnades,  and  other  structures,  but  in  which,  if  there 
(could  have  been  any  private  dwellings,  they  must 
'have  been  very  few,  and  those  near  the  walls.  Ca- 
nina  refers  the  remains  of  an  ancient  structure 
under  St.  Maria,  too  massive  evidently  for  a  private 
dwelling,  to  one  of  the  three  arches  that  adorned 
the  Yia  Lata,  the  new  arch  of  Diocletian,  and  to 
a  colonnade,  constructed  by  Agrippa,  in  the  site 
of  the  Septi, — an  inclosure  where  the  people  of 
Rome  assembled  to  vote  on  questions  submitted  to 
their  decision.  Cardinal  "Wiseman,  in  his  tale  of 
Fabiola,  forgetful  apparently  of  the  decision  of  his 
church,  makes  the  same  statement  as  to  the  charac- 
/ter  of  these  remains.  Thus  where  the  tradition  of 
I  the  Roman  Church  locates  the  house  of  St.  Paul,  the 
llearned  antiquarian  and  scholar,  and  the  illustrious 
cardinal,  place  an  arch  and  a  colonnade.  We  are 
compelled,  therefore,  to  discredit  the  tradition  which 
fixes  St.  Paul's  house  under  St.  Maria  Yia  Lata,  and 
to  conclude  that  it  must  have  been  near  to  the  wall, 
and  immediately  under  the  shadow  of  the  temple 
of  Jupiter  Capitolinus. 

The  text  gives  us  a  general  description  of  the 
mode  in  which  St.  Paul  employed  the  two  whole 
years  which  he  passed  in  Rome  in  his  own  hired 
house.  It  was  in  "preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
and  teaching  those  things  which  concern  the  Lord 
Jesus."  He  remembered,  no  doubt  constantly,  that 
solemn  night  in  the  tower  of  Antonia,  when  his 
Master  stood  by  him  and  said,  "Be  of  good  cheer, 
Paul,  for  as  thou  hast  testified  of  me  at  Jerusalem, 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  Ill 

so  must  thou  bear  witness  also  at  Rome."  Hence, 
when  as  free,  so  in  bonds,  he  determined  to  know 
nothing  among  those  to  whom  he  ministered  but 
Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

I.  When  we  remember  how  soon  after  this  period 
!ftTero  persecuted  the  church,  it  seems  strange  to  read 
that  Paul  was  permitted  at  that  time  so  openly  to 
preach  and  to  testify,  "with  all  confidence,  no  man 
forbidding  him." 

In  order  to  understand  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
refer  briefly  to  the  then  condition  and  spirit  of  the 
Roman  government. 

£fero  Had  succeeded  to  the  empire,  in  the  year\ 
A.D.  54,  nearly  seven  years  before  the  arrival  of  St. 
Paul  in  Rome.  His  character  from  his  earliest  youth 
gave  fearful  promise  of  its  development  into  those 
portentous  vices  which  have  made'  his  name  pre- 
eminent in  infamy.  It  was  the  policy  of  his  evil 
mother,  Agrippina,  to  foster  all  his  private  vices,  in 
order  that  she  might  withdraw  him  from  the  cares 
of  state,  and  rule  the  empire  through  him  as  she 
had  through  her  dull  husband,  the  Emperor  Clau- 
dius. She  indulged  all  his  tastes  for  the  circus  and 
theater,  and  association  with  players  and  charioteers 
and  pantomimists ;  and  surrounded  him  with  a  host 
of  polluting  parasites,  freedmen,  and  teachers  in  all 
the  luxuriant  vices  of  that  most  degenerate  age.  It 
may  readily  be  supposed  how  rapidly  a  youth  of 
seventeen,  with  bad  blood  in  him,  and  prone  to  all 
the  vices,  would  ripen  in  iniquity  in  such  a  school, 
when  put  in  possession  of  the  vast  and  irresponsible 
imperial  power, — the  greatest  power  ever  enjoyed 
by  man. 

1.  Against  these  powerful  influences  of  evil,  in 


112  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

/the  beginning  of  his  reign,  Seneca  and  Burrus,  his 
L  chief  advisers  and  ministers,  struggled  not 'altogether 
in  vain.  Seneca  had  been  Nero's  tutor.  His  fame 
for  wisdom  and  probity  were  so  high  that  he  had 
been  talked  of  as  the  successor  of  Claudius  to  the 
empire.  He  retained,  for  a  time,  his  ascendency 
over  the  mind  of  the  Emperor,  restraining  somewhat 
at  least,  the  outward  manifestations  of  his  private 
vices,  and  giving  a  mild,  popular,  and  just  character 
to  his  public  administration.  Burrus,  the  Praetorian 
prefect,  the  constant  friend  and  helper  of  Seneca, 
and  having  more  of  the  spirit  of  the  old  and  vir- 
tuous Roman  in  him,  was  less  afraid  of  Agrippina, 
and  more  peremptory  with  Nero,  than  the  timid  and 
politic  philosopher.  Nero,  having  full  sweep  to  all 
his  will  in  the  direction  of  his  youthful  tastes  and 
vices,  was  rather  amused  than  offended  to  see  the 
struggle  between  his  astute  mother  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  philosopher  and  soldier  on  the  other,  for 
that  control  of  the  public  administration  which  he 
knew  that  he  himself  could  at  any  time  assume. 
Under  the  guidance  of  these  two  wise  and  prudent 
statesmen,  the  public  administration  continued  to 
be  beneficent  and  just,  long  after  Nero  had  eman- 
cipated his  private  life  from  the  control  of  them 
and  of  Agrippina,  and  had  given  himself  up  to 
utter  license,  self-will,  and  evil  passion,  and  had  be- 
xjome  the  deliberate  murderer  of  his  brother  and  his 
(-mother.  The  contrast  between  his  private  life  and 
his  public  administration  was  indeed  remarkable. 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  there  had  been  any 
period  since  the  reign  of  Augustus  in  which  the 
empire  had  been  so  wisely,  justly,  and  beneficently 
administered,  as  during  the  first  six  or  seven  years 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  113 

of  Nero's  reign.  Trajan,  an  emperor  so  just  that 
Gregory  the  Great  is  said  to  have  prayed  God  to 
make  an  exception  in  his  case  and  admit  him  into 
Paradise,  expressed  the  wish  that  the  best  years  of 
his  reign  might  resemble  the  first  years  of  Nero's 
administration. 

The  Roman  people  must  indeed  have  greatly  en- 
joyed that  bright  and  peaceful  lull  in  the  long,  dark 
storm  of  tyranny  under  which  they  had  timidly 
cowered  or  recklessly  reveled.  Instead  of  the  sus- 
picion, espionage,  banishments  and  beheadings,  the 
dull  void  created  by  the  absence  of  the  Emperor  and 
court  from  Rome,  the  comparative  rarity  of  games 
and  shows,  which  were  the  characteristics  of  the 
reign  of  the  morose,  suspicious,  and  gloomy  Ti- 
berius, there  was  a  sudden  disappearance  of  spies 
and  informers;  a  revival  of  literature,  poetry,  and 
art;  the  Palatine  hill  became  alive  and  gay  with  im- 
perial pomp  and  activity;  games  and  shows  were 
profusely  multiplied,  and  largess  and  bread  were 
freely  scattered  among  the  people.  In  place  of  the 
capricious  tyranny  of  the  mad  Caligula,  whose  fan- 
tastic atrocities  kept  the  whole  city  and  empire  in  a 
state  of  nervous  apprehension,  there  was  an  assu- 
rance, on  the  part  of  the  citizens,  that  the  strong 
hand  of  Burrus  would  direct  the  Praetorian  cohorts 
for  their  protection  and  not  for  their  destruction, 
and  that  the  civil  administration  under  Seneca  would 
assure  and  not  rob  them  of  their  rights.  Instead  of 
the  degrading  rule  of  freedmen  and  of  Messalina 
and  Agrippina,  a  mixed  anarch  reign,  as  it  were,  of 
satyrs  and  of  furies,  in  which  all  the  old  Roman 
dignity  disappeared,  and  in  which  the  lives  and 
property  of  citizens  were  at  the  mercy  of  their  spies 


114  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

and  poisoners,  there  was  a  government  whose  chief 
officials  were  men  of  the  highest  rank  and  character, 
and  under  which  imperial  crimes  were  con-fined  to 

^  the  imperial  circle.  The  people  at  that  time  were 
ready  to  consider  an  emperor  eminently  good  who 
confined  his  murders  within  his  palace,  and  who  al- 
ways, at  this  period  of  his  reign,  followed  up  a  pri- 
vate atrocity  by  some  reform  in  the  public  adminis- 
tration, or  some  new  benefaction  to  the  public.  It 
is  this  peculiarity  of  Nero's  reign,  this  recollection 
of  its  bright  beginning,  which  accounts  for  the  fact 
that  among  the  populace  of  Rome  the  popularity  of 
Nero  was  never  wholly  effaced,  even  by  his  subse- 
quent public  atrocities ;  and  that  it  was  through  the 
influence  of  this  feeling  chiefly  that  Otho  was  sub- 

Csequently  elevated  to  the  empire. 

As  St.  Paul  resided  in  Rome  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  good  portion  of  Nero's  reign,  we  can 
perceive,  in  the  then  policy  of  the  government,  the 
reason  why  he  was  permitted  to  teach  and  preach 
"with  all  confidence,  110  man  forbidding."  During 
this  period,  neither  the  Jews  nor  the  Christians  were 
molested. 

2.  At  this  period,  moreover,  the  essential  antago- 
nism of  Christianity  to  all  pagan  systems  had  not 
become  fully  apparent.  Rome,  the  capital  of  the 
world,  was  accustomed,  when  she  incorporated  a 
nation  into  the  empire,  to  receive  its  gods  also  into 
her  mythology.  When  indeed  some  foreign  super- 
stition gave  freer  play  to  licentiousness  than  even 
licentious  Rome  approved,  laws  were  passed  for  the 
prohibition  of  its  rites.  But  in  such  cases  the 
trivial  open  sore  became  by  suppression  a  secret 
poison  in  the  blood.  Judaism  had  long  been  de- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  115 

nounced  as  an  unsocial  and  malignant  superstition, 
because  it  refused  alike  to  admit  and  to  be  admitted 
into  the  system  of  thousandfold  Polytheism  that  pre- 
vailed at  Rome.  But  its  nature  was  not  aggressive. 
It  sought,  with  intense  exclusiveness,  self-preserva- 
tion, but  not  extension.  It  could  not  be  extended 
without  pollution ;  it  could  not  be  mixed  with  other 
worships  without  blasphemy.  It  had  been  placed  in^ 
a  position  of  antagonism  to  Rome,  not  because  it. 
had  attempted  Proselytism,  but  because  it  had  re- 
sisted the  impious  effort  of  Caligula  to  usurp  in  the 
Temple  of  Jerusalem  the  place  of  the  Most  High- 
God.  Christianity  was  at  that  time  regarded  as  but 
a  form  of  Judaism.  It  was  hated  simply  because  it 
refused  to  coalesce  with  the  prevailing  idolatry. 
But  it  was  not  then  denounced  as  impiety,  and  as 
dangerous  to  the  state.  Later,  indeed,  when  the 
persistent  defamation  of  Christians  as  guilty  of  all 
crimes  and  enormities  in  their  worship  was  univer- 
sally received,  they  were  persecuted  simply  because 
they  bore  the  name  of  Christians.  We  find,  from 
the  correspondence  of  Pliny  with  the  Emperor 
Trajan,  that  this  was  the  policy  of  the  government 
at  that  period.  A  confession  of  Christianity  was 
considered  equivalent  to  a  proof  of  the  practice  of 
enormities  subversive  of  the  existence  of  society. 
Yet  the  real  motive  of  this  malignant  misrepresent- 
ation and  this  persecuting  hate  was  to  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  Christianity  denounced  the  idolatry  of 
the  Romans,  and  demanded  their  entire  allegiance, 
and  their  holy  consecration  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  crucified  man  of  Calvary  and  the  ascended  God 
of  Olivet.  It  was  not  to  be  borne  by  the  haughty 
masters  of  the  world,  that  they  who  ought  humbly  to 


116  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

seek  mere  toleration,  should  come  with,  rebukes  and 
warnings,  and  inexorable  claims,  and  awful  denun- 
ciations of  wrath  and  woe  to  the  unbelieving  and  dis- 
obedient. They  hated  the  light,  and  persecuted  the 
children  of  light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil. 

3.  The  favor  also  of  the  infamous  Poppea  is  be- 
lieved at  this  time  to  have  protected  both  the  Jews1 
and  Christians.  Josephus  states  that  she  had  become 
\a  proselyte  to  Judaism.  At  this  period  her  power 
was  in  the  ascendant.  No  one  possessed  equal  in- 
fluence over  Nero.  A  little  later,  on  the  birth  of  her 
daughter,  temples  were  erected  to  her  and  her  in- 
fant, and  divine  honors  were  paid  to  both.  Her 
Judaism  must  have  been  of  a  very  lax  kind  to  have 
permitted  her  to  receive  these  divine  honors.  Yet 
Josephus  calls  her  a  religious  woman.  There  was 
in  Rome  at  that  period  a  Judaism  which  had  become 
very  loose,  having  been  corrupted  by  the  surround- 
ing paganism.  In.  the  position  of  suspicion  and 
obloquy  which  the  Jews  occupied  at  Rome,  those 
who  were  not  made  by  it  more  rigid  in  their  faith, 
would  become  more  compliant  with  pagan  sentiments 
and  customs.  The  Pharisee  would  become  more 
sternly  bigoted,  and  the  Sadducee  more  accommo- 
datingly loose.  The  luxurious,  the  rich,  the  timid, 
would  seek  to  propitiate  the  favor  of  the  Romans, 
by  bringing  their  systems  as  nearly  as  possible  into 
line  with  all  other  tolerated  worships.  Josephus 
himself  is  an  illustration  of  this  remark.  We  may 
lind  a  symbol  at  least,  even  if  it  shall  not  prove  to  be 
an  historical  illustration,  of  this  style  of  Judaism, 
in  what  are  called  the  Jewish  Catacombs,  recently 
opened,  in  which  are  found  mixed  Jewish  and  classic 
emblems,  the  golden  candlestick  and  ark  of  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  117 

covenant,  in  connection  with  some  of  the  usual  rep- 
resentations of  heathen  mythology.  The  prevalence^ 
of  an  easy  and  fashionable  style  of  Judaism  may  ac-  ) 
count  for  Poppea's  adhesion.  She  was  not  one  who 
would  have  adopted  a  stern  and  rigid  rule  of  faith 
or  practice.  A  system,  adherence  to  which  enabled 
Josephus  to  call  Poppea  "a religious  woman,"  could 
not  have  been  very  strict.  ~No  doubt,  if  at  Rome  as 
at  Jerusalem  a  bitter  persecution  of  the  Christians 
by  the  Jews  had  arisen,  she  might  have  lent  herself 
as  the  instrument  of  their  hatred.  But  directly 
under  the  imperial  influence,  as  it  were,  the  Judaism 
of  Rome  could  scarcely  have  been  the  bitter,  malig- 
nant, and  persecuting  thing  it  was  at  Jerusalem. 
Hence  the  comparatively  kind  personal  reception 
which  Paul  met  with  at  the  hands  of  his  country- 
men in  Rome.  They  may  have  thought  that,  ob- 
noxious as  they  were  to  the  Romans,  and  apt  to  be 
confounded  as  they  were  with  the  Christians  in  the 
popular  apprehension,  their  own  safety  might  be  in- 
volved in  that  of  the  hated  JSTazarenes,  and  they  may 
have  rejoiced,  therefore,  that  the  protection  of  their 
imperial  patroness  shielded  those  whom  many  of 
them  would  otherwise  gladly  have  seen  given  to  the 
lions.  It  is  a  confirmation  of  this  remark  that  the 
persecution  of  the  Christians  was  soon  followed  by 
that  of  the  Jews. 

4.  There  is  another  reason  for  the  change  in  the 
imperial  policy  from  careless  toleration  to  the  most 
cruel  persecution.  After  the  conflagration  of  Rome^ 
Nero  became  so  obnoxious  to  the  citizens,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  suspicion  that  it  was  his  work,  that  it 
became  necessary  to  divert  the  public  hatred.  It 
was  directed  upon  the  heads  of  the  Christians.  They 

15 


118  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

were  accused  of  the  crime  of  having  burned  the 
city.  They  were  denounced  as  guilty  of  impiety  to 
the  gods  and  disloyalty  to  the  empire.  The  most 
atrocious  falsehoods  were  circulated  with  regard  to 
them.  They  were  accused  of  sacrificing  children, 
and  feeding  upon  their  flesh,  and  of  joining  to  their 
worship  rites  more  obscene  and  abominable  than 
those  of  Yenus  and  of  Isis.  In  the  gardens  of  Nero 
on  the  Vatican  hill,  Christians  were  tortured  and 
martyred  with  many  circumstances  of  indignity  and 
cruelty  worse  than  death.  At  night,  tied  up  in 
sacks  and  smeared  with  pitch  and  wax  to  serve  as 
torches,  they  were  made  a  spectacle  for  tHe  populace ; 
and  amid  the  illuminated  scene  the  imperial  wretch 
drove  his  chariot  with  the  joy  of  a  gratified,  malig- 
nant demon.  It  was  because  that,  previous  to  this 
period,  the  sacrifice  and  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians could  have  served  no  purpose  of  the  tyrant, 
and  might  have  done  him  harm,  that  St.  Paul  was 
permitted  for  two  whole  years,  in  his  own  hired 
house,  "to  teach  and  preach  with  all  confidence,  no 
man  forbidding  him." 

II.  St.  Paul  received  "all  that  came  in  unto  him." 
The  words  seem  to  imply  that  his  house  had  become 
a  place  of  much  resort.  We  have  seen  that  tradi- 
tion has  assigned  it  to  the  Via  Lata.  If  it  were 
there,  St.  Paul  was  in  precisely  that  part  of  the  city 
where  he  would  be  most  likely  to  be  known,  and  his 
history  and  his  doctrine  to  be  discussed.  It  was  on 
the  great  thoroughfare  which  led  from  the  Forum 
and  the  Capitol  to  the  Campus  Martins.  The  tide  of 
life  which  flowed  through  it  was  that  of  persons  at 
leisure  and  in  search  of  recreation.  The  crowds 
which  perpetually  passed  Paul's  house  were  going 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  119 

and  coming  to  and  from  the  baths,  or  games,  or 
drives,  or  strolls,  in  the  Campus  Martins.  It  would 
not  be  singular  if  such  a  peculiar  case  as  that  of 
Paul's  should,  from  such  vast  and  mixed  multitudes, 
have  drawn  daily  a  concourse  to  listen  to  his  exposi- 
tions sufficient  to  have  filled  his  probably  narrow 
atrium  and  adjoining  chambers.  Some  of  his  own 
beloved  Christian  friends  and  disciples  would  be 
always  there.  They  would  bring  others  with  them, 
in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  convicted  and  con- 
vinced by  the  Apostle's  faithful  rebukes,  luminous 
expositions,  and  earnest  appeals.  We  cannot  doubt 
that  each  day  believers  thus  came,  bringing  with 
them  Jewish  or  heathen  friends ;  for  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served in  the  salutations  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Roman 
Christians,  how  much  he  commends  them  as  "help- 
ers," "work-fellows,"  and  "laborers  in  the  Lord." 
The  soldiers,  wrho  on  successive  days  kept  him  and 
listened  to  his  words,  might  have  been  so  struck  and 
won  by  his  heroism  and  his  love,  as  to  have  fre- 
quently returned.  It  must  have  been  through  them 
that  the  Apostle's  bonds  were  known  in  all  the  Prse- 
torium;  and  through  that  knowledge  in  Csesar's 
house,  and  in  all  other  places.  What  singular  sen- 
sations of  wonder,  and  sometimes  of  admiration  and 
of  sympathy,  must  have  thrilled  through  those  rude 
men,  when  St.  Paul,  in  the  ardor  of  his  prayer  or 
speech,  lifted  up  the  short  and  heavy  chain  which 
bound  him  to  his  guard,  and  made  him  as  it  were 
a  partaker  and  helper  of  his  solemn  warnings  and 
affectionate  persuasions !  The  clank  of  that  common 
chain  may,  to  their  startled  minds,  have  ominously 
seconded  his  vivid  reasonings  of  righteousness  and 
of  judgment  to  come.  Brethren  and  children  of  the 


120  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

Apostle,  his  converts,  from  Ephesus,  Corinth,  Phil- 
ippi,  ^and  many  other  places,  would  hasten  to 
the  scene,  and  St.  Paul's  eye  might  first  discern 
them  in  his  ever-shifting  audience,  in  the  midst  of 
some  exposition  or  appeal.  How  often  may  the 
sight  of  some  brand  plucked  from  the  burning  have 
added  fervor  to  his  representations  of  the  fullness 
and  sufficiency  of  redeeming  grace,  or  the  sudden 
view  of  some  dear  Christian  brother,  who  had  ten- 
derly ministered  to  his  necessities  or  sorrows,  have 
added  to  the  divine  beauty  of  his  representations  of 
the  blessedness  of  Christian  love ! 

And  there,  shrinking  in  the  corner,  is  the  poor, 
tattered,  and  guilty  slave  Onesimus.  Perhaps  in 
his  extremity  he  has  come  to  Paul,  whom  he  had 
known  at  his  master's  house,  for  human  help,  and 
has  found  a  heavenly  treasure.  There,  mixed  with 
the  crowd,  are  slaves  and  servitors  and  freedmen, 
whose  badges  proclaim  them  to  be  of  Caesar's  house- 
hold. That  proud  senator  that  sweeps  by  with  a 
troop  of  clients  and  attendants, — will  he  enter?  No. 
A  sycophant,  as  he  pauses  a  moment  before  the 
door,  gives  him  a  ludicrous  account  of  the  bold  and 
enthusiastic  prisoner,  and  the  haughty  Roman  laughs 
and  passes  on.  That  young  patrician  candidate  for 
the  honors  of  the  Forum, — will  he  step  in  ?  Yes ;  he 
will  turn  back  a  moment,  for  one  of  his  friends  has 
given  him  assurance  that  this  man  has  a  certain  sort 
of  natural  eloquence,  which,  though  careless  of  the 
rules  of  art,  is  not  coarse  or  common.  That  grave 
and  sad  man,  whom  the  atrocities  and  sorrows  of 
the  time  have  driven  into  the  only  system  of  that 
era  which  has  anything  of  strength  or  dignity, — the 
system  of  the  Stoics,  which  is  beginning  to  prevail, 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  121 

and  will  soon  have  one  of  its  best  disciples  on  the 
throne, — will  he  gather  up  his  robe  and  join  that 
motley  crowd?  Almost  ashamed,  and  looking 
around  to  see  that  no  friend  is  near,  he  will  indulge 
his  curiosity;  for  his  mind  is  tortured  with  the 
problems  and  enigmas  of  this  dark  world,  and  he 
has  heard  that  this  Jew  is  a  joyful  man,  and  speaks 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  its  glorious  de- 
velopment in  the  future,  in  a  strain  of  eloquence 
worthy  of  the  divine  Plato,  and  with  a  certainty  of 
conviction  which  Plato  never  reached,  though 
strangely  mixed  with  fables  and  with  abject  repre- 
sentations of  the  moral  condition  of  the  soul  of 
majestic  man.  Such  are  Paul's  audiences,  Nor  are 
his  words  in  vain.  His  bonds  turn  out  rather  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  Onesimus  is  begotten 
on  his  bonds.  Saints  are  found  in  Csesar's  house- 
hold. The  gay  and  busy  crowd  pass  by.  But  few 
of  those  who  passed  in  pomp  and  splendor  have 
done  anything  for  man  or  have  lived  in  history; 
while  that  poor  prisoner,  whose  case  might  have 
been  the  subject  of  a  moment's  wondering  or  con- 
temptuous comment,  as  they  saw  the  crowd  before 
his  door,  has  been,  and  is,  and  will  be  remembered 
with  gratitude  by  millions  of  regenerated  souls  on 
earth  and  in  heaven. 

III.  We  know  St.  Paul's  one  theme,— Christ.  It 
was  "Jesus  and  the  resurrection;"  "  Christ,  and  him 
crucified."  In  the  text,  however,  we  are  told  that 
he  remained  at  Rome  "  preaching  the  Kingdom,  of 
God."  To  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  and  to 
preach  only  Christ  are  not  inconsistent  things. 
Christ  came  to  establish  God's  Kingdom.  To  be- 
lieve in  Christ,  to  profess  faith  in  him,  to  be  con- 


122  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

verted  and  sanctified,  was  to  belong  to  God's  King- 
dom in  heart,  and  to  be  ready  to  be  enrolled  among 
his  disciples  in  that  visible  kingdom  of  which  Christ 
was  head,  which  had  its  own  appropriate  rites,  and 
its  own  duties  to  its  members  and  to  the  world. 

It  is  a  deplorable  mistake  when  the  Church  or 
Kingdom  of  God  is  preached,  as  if  it,  and  not  the 
truth  which  it  should  hold  and  dispense,  is  that 
which  is  supremely  important;  and  as  if  its  sacra- 
ments and  rites  were,  of  themselves,  salutary  and 
saving,  without  the  truth  or  against  the  truth,  for 
the  soul  of  man.  It  is  an  error  scarcely  less  fatal  in 
its  final  effects  upon  the  world,  to  represent  the  truth 
as  so  alone  important  as  to  speak  slightingly  and  ir- 
reverently of  the  Church  of  God,  and  its  divinely 
instituted  rites ;  and  to  feel  no  duty  in  reference  to 
its  extension  and  support.  It  is  true  that  it  is  not 
the  cup  but  the  water  of  life  that  refreshes  and  saves 
the  soul ;  but  the  water  is  presented  in  the  cup.  "Who 
will  drink  the  water  and  then  dash  the  cup  contempt- 
uously to  the  earth  ?  The  truth  is  that  which  is  to 
convince,  convict,  and  save  the  soul,  or  rather  it  is 
Christ  that  saves  the  soul  through  the  Word  adminis- 
tered by  the  Spirit;  but  it  is  the  church  that  presents 
the  Word.  It  is  the  Bible  that  is  the  soul's  treasure ; 
but  the  casket  in  which  it  is  laid  up,  and  from  which 
it  is  brought  forth,  is  the  church.  The  truth  is  for 
the  soul  and  the  church  is  for  the  truth,  and  both 
are  so  connected  in  the  divine  purpose,  because 
so  important  to  each  other,  that  St.  Paul,  in  the  same 
breath,  is  said  to  have  preached  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  to  have  taught  those  things  which  concern  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

Suppose  that  there  were  no  church,  no  sacraments, 
no  ministry,  no  visible  union  of  believers,  no  organ- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  123 

ization  for  united  duty,  helpfulness,  and  prayer; 
conceive  the  Gospel  to  have  been  proclaimed  by  the 
Saviour  and  committed  to  writing,  and  faith  in  the 
Saviour  to  have  been  as  it  is  now,  the  one  only  way 
of  life.  Then  the  Gospel,  or  truth  of  God,  would 
be  in  the  world  precisely  as  different  moral  theories 
are  in  it ;  and  would  be  adopted  by  individuals  who 
would  not  be  associated  in  any  visible  organizations. 
Now  as  this  Gospel  is  light  from  heaven  which  men 
hate,  which  they  do  riot  love  to  see  by  when  it  is  in 
a  candlestick,  which  they  hold  behind  them  when  it 
is  placed  in  their  hands,  we  may  be  sure  they  would 
not  be  likely  to  find  it  and  be  guided  by  it  when  it 
was  placed  under  a  bushel.  With  how  few  souls 
would  it  come  in  contact !  How  soon  it  would  die 
out  in  the  world!  Instead  of  taking  its  course 
through  this  dry  and  barren  land,  the  world,  as  an 
abounding  and  beautiful  river,  sparkling  in  the  sun, 
and  diffusing  fertility,  it  would  sink  under  ground 
and  creep  through  sunless  caverns.  Men  will  not 
go  after  a  Gospel  which  condemns  them.  Rather 
they  will  strive  to  flee  from  it  when  it  comes  to 
them.  If  it  holds  them  it  will  be  by  grasping  their 
conscience  first,  while  it  repels  their  heart.  The 
mercy  which  is  to  save  them  must  be  aggressive 
mercy.  The  orb  of  truth  which  is  to  enlighten 
them  must  be  above  the  horizon.  The  truth  pri- 
vately proclaimed,  merely  announced,  with  no  pro- 
vision made  for  its  conservation  and  diffusion  by  a 
permanent  organization,  would  be  as  the  commis- 
sion of  God  to  Moses,  when  it  was  shut  up  in  his 
unwilling  heart,  when  he  cried,  "Oh,  Lord!  send 
whom  thou  wilt  send!"  But  when  it  is  committed 
to  an  organization,  it  is  like  the  same  commission  as 


124  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

it  came  down  on  wings  of  fire  from  Sinai  to  the  as- 
sembled thousands  that  trembled  at  its  base.  It 
would  be  like  the  dim  light  that  struggled  with  the 
dark  chaos  of  the  world's  first  day,  if  it  were  left  to 
diffuse  itself  of  its  own  spontaneous  power  from 
heart  to  heart.  But  committed  to  an  organization, 
it  is  like  light  compacted  into  the  orb  of  day  and 
diffusing  its  radiance  over  all  the  earth.  The  church, 
deriving  its  light  from  Christ,  is  the  light  of  the 
world.  Its  office,  like  that  of  each  individual  ot 
which  it  is  composed,  is  that  of  holding  forth  the 
Word  of  Life. 

Iii  preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God  at  Rome,  in 
proclaiming  a  new,  heavenly,  earth-embracing  Insti- 
tution in  which  there  was  truth,  and  life,  and  happi- 
ness, and  the  beginning  of  a  bright  immortality  for 
man,  St.  Paul  no  doubt  adapted  himself  to  what  he 
knew  was  among  the  most  deeply  felt  of  the  moral 
wants  of  those  whom  he  addressed.  The  philoso- 
phy of  the  ages  past  had  utterly  failed  to  furnish  a 
refuge  and  give  peace  to  the  heart.  There  had  been 
a  flitting  succession  of  schools  and  theories,  which 
had  left  only  one  deep  conviction  behind  them,  and 
that  was  that  truth  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  They 
had  neither  succeeded  in  establishing  truth  on  which 
the  soul  could  rest,  nor  in  imposing  upon  the  human 
mind  a  plausible  falsehood  in  the  place  of  truth. 
The  hopefulness  which  inspired  the  earlier  thinkers 
had  been  changed  into  despondency  or  despair. 
The  brilliant  lights  of  the  Platonic  philosophy,  which 
played  upon  the  horizon  and  seemed  to  be  the  dawn- 
ing brightness  of  the  coming  day,  proved  to  be  the 
/  ushers  of  a  gloomy  night.  All  attempts  to  explain 
\^man's  present  state,  or  forecast  his  future  doom,  had 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  125 

failed.  The  foaming  and  sparkling  philosophies 
of  the  past  had  left  but  this  one  poor  residuum, — 
the  inexplicable  fact  of  human  ignorance  and  wretch- 
edness. All  that  remained  to  man  was  to  make 
the  best  of  it.  The  only  two  systems,  called  phil- 
osophy, which  remained  at  this  period,  attempted 
to  do  no  more  than  practically  to  make  the  best  that 
could  be  made  of  this  lamentable  fact.  The  Epicu- 
rean adopted  one  mode  and  the  Stoic  another. 
The  one  said,  "Our  ignorance  we  will  not  lament, 
and  our  sorrow  we  will  drive  away;  let  us  eat,  drink, 
and  be  merry !"  The  other  stoutly  denied  that  what 
were  called  pain  and  sorrow  were  real,  or  if  real, 
that  they  should  disturb  a  good  man's  peace.  The 
latter  was  the  nobler  system ;  but  in  their  results  the 
only  difference  between  the  two  was  that  the  one 
was  a  gay  and  frivolous,  and  the  other  was  a  digni- 
fied and  mournful  wretchedness. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  such  minds  must  have  pro- 
foundly felt  that  theories,  however  subtle  and  bril- 
liant, could  be  of  no  avail.  If  St.  Paul  had  come  to 
them  with  a  mere  new  system  of  truth,  which  ex- 
plained evil,  and  the  soul,  and  God,  and  the  future,  it 
could  not  have  met  their  needs.  They  would  have 
been  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  its  proofs.  The  world 
had  already  had  more  than  enough  of  theories  and 
systems.  But  that  which  St.  Paul  announced  was  a 
practical  remedy  to  felt  and  incumbent  ills.  Its 
truth  could  be  even  better  learned  by  being  tested 
than  by  being  examined.  He  came  with  facts  and 
not  theories.  The  facts  made  all  theories  and  sys- 
tems superfluous.  The  understanding  of  the  system 
followed  the  acceptance  of  the  well-attested  facts. 
Paul  said  to  them,  "You  have  groped  after  God. 

16 


126  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Behold,  he  has  revealed  himself  through  his  Son ! 
That  Son,  in  the  form  and  nature  of  man,  has  come 
to  tell  us  the  truth,  remove  our  sin  and  sorrow,  and 
take  us  to  a  perfectly  holy  and  happy  and  eternal 
home.     He  died  for  our  sin,  and  God  forgives  it. 
He  has  gone  back  to  heaven,  and  there  awaits  us, 
and  thence  sends  down  holy  power  into  our  souls  to 
prepare  us  for  it.     See  the  proofs  of  it  in  the  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  the  God-man   Saviour. 
See  them  here,  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  which  he 
established.     See!   here  are  its  laws,  its  rites,  its 
privileges,  its  purifications,  and  its  joys!  Christ  now 
in  heaven  is  at  the  head  of  it.     His  life  is  in  it.     Its 
work  in  the  soul  is  a  matter  of  fact  and  of  experience. 
Try  it  and  you  will  have  the  experience.    Look,  and 
you  will  see  the  fact.     The  Kingdom  of  God  has 
come  unto  you.     Enter  it  and  live.     All  the  past, 
present,  and  future  of  man  and  earth  and  heaven 
are  here  explained,  and  here  all  that  is  sorrowful  and 
evil  begins  the  process  of  restoration  to  purity  and 
joy."      Oh!  how  to  many  hearts  torn  with  sorrow, 
to  consciences  pierced  with  the  sense  of  sin,  to  minds 
bewildered  by  doubt;  how  to  souls  so  consciously 
alone,  and  desolate  and  helpless,  must  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Kingdom  of  God — a  heaven-descended  re- 
ality in  which  there  was  divine  life  and  love  and 
power,  and  sweet  and  mutually  sustaining  fellowship 
and  present  peace,  and  the  sure  hope  of  future  rest 
and  glory, — how  must  it  have  come  with  power  and 
with  self-evidencing  light  to  snatch  them  from  de- 
spair ! 

It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  proclama- 
tion of  "the  Kingdom  of  God,"  of  the  actual  pres- 
ence of  God's  government  in  the  world,  must  have 


ST.  PAUL    IN    EOME. 


+J 

^          ?  E^nS  I  71 
xtf          o_p- 


been  a  most  comforting  truth  to 
under  tlie  Kingdom  of  the  Caesars.  Un 
awful  domination  it  must  have  seemed  as  if  the 
gods  had  abandoned  the  earth,  and  that  it  had  been 
given  up  to  the  rule  of  irresistible,  crushing,  evil 
power.  It  must  have  seemed  as  if  all  the  principles 
of  morality  and  honor  and  mercy,  which  had  hith- 
erto at  least  struggled  to  maintain  a  place  in  human 
affairs,  had  at  length  given  way,  and  resigned  the 
world  to  the  single  sway  of  power  employed  as  the 
instrument  of  luxury,  rapacity,  lust,  cruelty,  and  the 
varied  crimes  whose  evil  brotherhood  is  never  broken. 
The  government  of  the  Caesars  had  become  almost 
an  earthly  omnipotence  and  omniscience  in  the  re- 
gard of  the  Romans  and  the  subject  nations.  It 
had  destroyed  all  the  old  Roman  virtues,  which  if 
stern  and  even  savage,  were  at  least  bold  and  manly 
and  often  magnanimous  and  heroic.  Cringing,  flat- 
tery, falsehood,  treachery,  and  a  wild  pursuit  of  pleas- 
ure, all  the  more  keen  because  it  was  upon  the  edge 
of  death,  became  the  prevailing  characteristics  of  the 
time.  Learning  and  philosophy,  which  had  formerly 
aimed  to  lift  men  above  luxury  and  pleasure,  were 
now  employed  as  the  instruments  to  give  them  new 
and  richer  zest.  The  citizens  looked  alone  to  Caesar 
and  the  government  for  all  their  good,  and  from  it 
alone  they  feared  their  chiefest  evil.  It  had  become  to 
them  their  providence  or  their  fate.  Nothing  aston- 
ishes the  reader  of  the  Roman  annals  of  this  period 
more  than  the  tameness  with  which  proud  and  power- 
ful men  gave  themselves  up  to  the  evil  will  of  the 
government,  as  to  a  fate  which  it  would  be  madness 
to  attempt  either  to  escape  or  to  resist.  They  seemed 
to  feel  that  there  was  no  desert,  cave,  nor  mountain 


128  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

height,  nor  lonely  isle,  where  the  Argus-eyed  and 
million-handed  Roman  power  could  not  track  and 
grasp  and  strangle  them.  Even  generals  at  the  head 
of  mighty  armies,  when  they  heard  of  the  displeas- 
ure or  suspicion  of  Caesar,  hastened  to  open  their 
veins,  and  for  the  sake  of  their  children  died  con- 
fessing crimes  they  had  not  committed,  and  praising 
and  invoking  the  clemency  of  the  master  of  the 
world.  This  awful  weight  of  evil  power  upon  Rome 
and  upon  the  nations  reached  its  maximum  under 
Nero.  Of  the  latter  years  of  his  hideous  tyranny  it 
might  have  been  said,  in  the  wonderful  words  of 
Shakspeare : — 

Everything  includes  itself  in  power, 
Power  into  will,  will  into  appetite, 
And  appetite,  an  universal  wolf, 
So  doubly  seconded  by  will  and  power, 
Must  make  perforce  an  universal  prey, 
And  last  eat  up  himself! 

Now  to  he  assured  that  there  was  a  good  and 
righteous  God,  that  he  was  not  dead  nor  sleeping, 
that  he  had  not  abdicated  the  government  of  the 
world,  that  earth  was  not  and  was  not  to  be  given 
up  to  the  sole  sway  of  the  Caesars,  that  there  was  a 
Kingdom  of  God  set  up  on  earth,  which  was  to  ex- 
tend until  it  should  embrace  all  nations — we  may  well 
suppose  that  this  would  be  a  message  to  arrest  the 
attention  of  those  who  were  reveling  or  crouching 
or  wondering  or  weeping  under  the  fearful  kingdom 
of  the  Caesars.  St.  Paul,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Palatine  hill,  preaching  the  Kingdom  of  God  and 
demonstrating  in  his  own  person  its  mighty  and 
superior  power,  in  the  midst  of  what  seemed  his 
absolute  subjection  to  the  power  of  the  Caesars,  and 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  129 

rejoicing   in  its  glorious   liberty  as   he   shook  the 
chains  that  bound  him, — St.  Paul,  thus  demonstrat- 
ing freedom  in  servitude,  and  power  in  weakness,    < 
must  have   spoken   thrilling  words  to  many  who/ 
paused  to  hear  him  on  the  Via  Lata. 

It  is  comforting  as  we  walk  up  and  down  the 
Corso,  by  the  spot  where  Paul  preached,  to  remem- 
ber that  the  free  Kingdom  of  God  was  then  here  in 
the  midst  of  the  servitudes  of  Pagan  Rome.  It 
will  be  well  if  the  thought  shall  increase  our  own 
rejoicing  liberty  in  Christ,  in  the  midst  of  the  Chris- 
tian bondage  wilich  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
Pagan,  and  has  been  wrought  out  of  the  very  free- 
dom which  Paul  preached  and  enjoyed  in  the  midst 
of  his  imprisonment  and  bonds. 

Paul  enjoyed  and  gave  freedom  in  the  midst  of 
servitude.     The  Church  of  Rome  has  taken  the  in- 
struments by  which  Paul  broke  the  bonds  of  Pagan 
servitude,  and  out  of  them  has  forged  new  chains  of  j 
so-called  Christian  bondage. 

IV.  St.  Paul  was  not  only  occupied  in  "preaching 
the  Kingdom  of  God,"  but  also  in  "teaching  those 
things  that  concern  the  Lord  Jesus."  They  are  dif- 
ferent functions — preaching  and  teaching — of  the 
same  office.  His  great  and  primary  work  was  to 
"preach  the  Kingdom."  This  was  his  more  public, 
formal,  official  heralding  of  salvation  through  Christ, 
and  his  invitation  to  accept  it  and  to  be  enrolled  in 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  to  be  followed  up  by 
teaching  those  things  that  concern  the  Lord  Jesus. 
While  each  function  is  to  be  discharged  both  to  the 
world  and  the  church,  yet  the  preaching  had  more 
reference  to  the  former  and  the  teaching  to  the 
latter.  After  salvation  and  the  Kingdom  of  God 


130  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

are  announced  as  facts,  present,  saving,  and  avail- 
able to  all,  there  remain  many  things  to  be  taught 
concerning  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  founder  and  the 
head  of  this  glorious  kingdom.  After  St.  Paul  had 
stood  up  and  preached  the  Gospel,  inviting  sinners 
to  accept  it,  and  unfolding  to  saints  its  privileges 
and  duties,  we  can  imagine  a  group  remaining  when 
the  crowd  had  dispersed,  to  whose  questions  con- 
cerning the  Lord  Jesus  he  would  answer  at  length ; 
we  can  see  the  children  of  the  saints  come  in  and 
sit  at  his  feet  while  he  unfolds  the  histories  and 
types  and  prophecies  which  refer  to  Him,  and  tells 
the  story  of  the  Saviour's  life,  and  his  miracles  of 
love  and  power.  How  much  there  would  be  to  teach 
concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  to  both  Jew  and  Gen- 
tile !  The  teaching  would  make  the  preaching  more 
precious  to  the  heart,  and  the  preaching  would  ani- 
mate it  with  holy  curiosity  and  thirst  for  fuller 
teaching.  Only  they  who,  like  Paul,  teach  con- 
cerning Jesus,  can  like  him  successfully  preach  the 
kingdom. 

We  are  assembled,  it  is  probable,  very  near  the 
place  where  St.  Paul  preached  the  Kingdom  of  God 
and  taught  concerning  Jesus.  !N"ow,  alas !  there  is 
little  other  preaching  in  Rome  than  that  of  the 
kingdom,  temporal  and  spiritual,  of  the  Pope,  and 
the  things  that  concern  Mary !  The  name  and  the 
work  of  the  Saviour  are  becoming  here  an  append- 
age, and  an  appendage  increasingly  insignificant,  to 
that  of  Mary.  The  dogmatic  theology  of  Rome, 
which  always  follows  and  systematizes  and  elevates 
into  articles  of  faith  the  superstitions  of  the  people 
and  the  exaggerations  of  the  clergy,  not  long  ago 
decreed,  through  the  Pope,  the  Immaculate  Concep- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  131 

tion  of  the  Virgin.     This  has  given  a  prodigious 
popular  impulse  to  an  enlargement  of  her  power 
and  glory;  and  soon  the  church  must  come  forward 
and  express  in  dogma  what  priests  and  people  now 
so  freely  express  in  devotion,  viz.,  the  proper  deifi-\ 
cation  of  the  Virgin,  and  her  supreme  and  exclusive  1 
administration  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth/ 
Another  divine  person  is  practically  added  to  the 
Trinity,  and  to  her  is  practically  consigned  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Kingdom  of  God.     I  quote  a  few 
words  of  a  little  work  commemorating  a  miraculous 
picture  of  the  Virgin  at  Spolato,  purchased  close  by 
the  place  where   Paul  preached  the   Kingdom   of 
God  and  taught  concerning  Jesus. 

"Who  is  there  that  does  not  need  the  mediation 
deservedly  omnipotent  of  the  celestial  Mother  of  God 
and  of  men  ?  He  only  who  has  no  need  of  anything 
in  time  or  in  eternity.  Every  one  without  distinc- 
tion, sovereign  or  subject,  wise  or  ignorant,  rich  or 
poor,  good  or  bad,  sick  or  well,  in  life  or  in  death, 
in  need  whether  of  body  or  of  mind,  all  must  have  the 
maternal,  pitiful,  and  most  efficacious  protection  of 
the  Virgin  Mother  of  God  and  of  us  her  children. 
This  is  because  Mary  has  been  made  by  the  thrice  Holy 
Trinity  the  dispenser  of  all  graces,  temporal  and  spiritual, 
and  has  decreed  that  the  children  of  Eve  the  sinner, 
should  obtain  them  through  the  mediation  of  the 
first-born,  immaculate,  and  ever-virgin  Mother  and 
ever-holy  Spouse  of  God.  It  [i.e.  the  Trinity]  has\ 
decreed  that  we  should  receive  all  things  through/ 
Mary." 

It  is  impossible  for  language  to  be  used  which 
shall  more  absolutely  take  away  all  the  attributes 
and  powers,  and  all  the  works  of  Christ,  and  consign 
them  to  the  Virgin. 


132  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

It  is  very  sad,  after  1800  years,  to  find  this  other 
Gospel  and  other  Kingdom  and  other  Saviour  and 
other  God  preached  where  Paul  preached  Jesus  and 
his  Kingdom.  It  makes  us  long  for  the  coming  of 
the  day  when  our  poor  sinful  hearts  and  darkened 
minds  shall  no  longer  corrupt  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,  and  when  that  millennium  Kingdom  of  God 
shall  be  established  over  all  the  earth,  which  shall 
never  again  lapse  backward  into  error,  but  shall  go 
forward  and  at  length  be  merged  into  the  perfect 
kingdom  into  which  nothing  that  defileth  or  de- 
ceiveth  shall  ever  enter. 


LECTURE  VI. 

CESAR'S  HOUSEHOLD,  AND  THE  SAINTS. 

All  the  saints  salute  you,  chiefly  they  that  are  of  Caesar's  house- 
hold.—PHIL,  iv.  22. 

THESE  words  not  only  show  that  there  were  saints 
in  Caesar's  household,  but  they  seem  to  imply,  in  the 
word  chiefly,  a  peculiar  predominance  of  these  saints 
over  others  in  Borne,  or  a  peculiarly  close  relation  of 
St.  Paul  with  them,  or  of  them  with  the  Christians 
of  Philippi. 

No  contrast  could  be  greater  than  that  which  is 
presented  by  the  first  Christianity  of  Rome,  and  its 
then  prevailing  Paganism.  It  is  suggested  by  the 
text,  which  points  out  on  the  one  hand,  the  house 
and  household  of  Caesar,  and  on  the  other,  the 
saints  that  were  there,  and  the  other  saints  of 
Rome. 

When  Paul  lived  in  his  own  hired  house,  the 
Golden  House  of  Nero  was  not  yet  built.  Yet  Caesar's 
house  when  Paul  wrote — as  the  ruins  of  the  Palatine 
hill  abundantly  testify — must  have  been  exceedingly 
magnificent. 

I.  The  labors  of  the  learned,  and  especially  of 
Canina,  enable  us  to  obtain  an  impressive  conception 
of  Caesar's  house  at  the  time  when  Paul  wrote.  If 
they  cannot  be  sure  of  all  the  details  which  they 

17  (133) 


134  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

suggest,  and  if  they  differ  among  themselves,  they 
yet  agree  in  many  main  particulars,  and  do  not  fail 
to  convey  to  us — that  which  is  most  important  for 
our  present  purpose — the  same  impressions  of  the 
grandeur  and  luxury  of  Caesar's  house. 

In  the  time  of  Nero,  the  Palatine  hill  had  become 
one  vast  congeries  of  imperial  piles  for  the  private 
residence  of  the  emperors  and  the  officials  of  the 
court,  and  for  some  public  purposes.     It  included 
palaces,  temples,  libraries,  baths,  and  fountains,  the 
gardens  of  Adonis,  and  an  area  for  athletic  games. 
Previous  to  the  empire  it  had  been  occupied  chiefly 
by  patrician  residences,     Augustus  had  purchased 
the  house  of  the  orator  Hortensius,  lying  midway 
on  the  southeastern  crest  of  the  hill  opposite  the 
Circus  Maximus.  It  was  described  as  a  modest  man- 
sion, compared  to  the  sumptuous  palaces  that  were 
subsequently  constructed.     One  of  the  columns  of 
the  portico,  however,  preserved  in  the  Church  Am 
Cceli,  suggests  that  it  must  have  been  massive  if  not 
i  gorgeous.     Behind  it,  on  the  central  portion  of  the 
(  hill,  he  constructed,  of  pure  white  Carrara  marble, 
the  exquisite  Temple  of  Apollo.  Its  surrounding  por- 
(  ticoes  were  adorned  with  fifty  equestrian  statues  of 
(  the  sons  of  Danaus,  and  with  fifty  statues  of  his 
,  daughters ;  and  within  its  atrium  there  was  a  statue 
1  of  Apollo   fifty  feet  high.      Beyond  this  he  con- 
structed the  celebrated  Greek  and  Latin  libraries. 
Tiberius  added  a  still  more  sumptuous  palace,  which 
was  connected  with  that  of  Augustus,  and  stretched 
toward    the    north,    though    still    overlooking  the 
Circus  Maximus.     A  large  temple  intervened  be- 
tween these  palaces  and  that  still  more  magnificent 
which  Caligula  constructed  on  the  hill  which  over- 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  135 

looks  the  Forum,  and  the  exceedingly  massive  re- 
mains and  foundations  of  which  are  now  in  process 
of  being  opened  by  the  Emperor  of  the  French.  -^ 
Beyond  this  palace  began  the  extensive  additions 
of  !Nero,  the  first  of  which  was  the  new  or  renewed 
ground  entrance  to  the  palace  near  that  which  the 
visitor  now  enters,  and  which  led  to  the  imperial 
residences  through  the  courts  of  the  libraries  and 
the    corridors   of  the    portico   of  the    Temple   of 
Apollo.     Thence,  occupying  the  portion  of  the  hill 
which  overlooked  the  Via  Sacra  and  the  VeUa,  .with 
the  famous  gardens  of  Adonis,  he  stretched  a  pile 
of  palaces,  some  of  whose  enormous  arches  can  still 
be  seen,  around  the  southern  portion  of  the  hill, 
until  they  touched,  on  the  southwestern  side,  the 
original  palace  of  Augustus.      In  addition  to  this) 
complete  occupancy  of  the  Palatine  hill,  he  con- 
structed   another    palace,   the   Domus    Trajisitoria, 
across  the  space  now  occupied   by  the  Coliseum, 
which  ascended  the  slope  of  the  Esquiline  to  the  I 
borders  of  the  gardens  of  Mecsenas.    Such  was  even 
then,  before  the  insane  extravagance  of  the  Golden  \ 
House,  the  enormous  extent,  the  vast  splendor,  and  j 
the  immense  variety  of  magnificence  included  under  \ 
the  name  of  "Cesar's  house."     And  all  this  pile  of 
palaces  was  rich  beyond  all  modern  luxury,  in  mar- 
bles, and  gilding,  and  frescoes,  and  bronzes,  and  mo- 
saics, and  statuary,  and  paintings.    There  the  luxury 
of  life,  the   extravagance  of  expenditure  in  furni- 
ture, and  feasts,   and  wines;    the   employment  of 
troops  of  players,  mimics,  musicians,  athletes,  gladi- 
ators, charioteers,  and  nameless  ministers  of  name- 
less vices,  were  such  as  Christian  civilization  in  its 
most  splendid  and  vicious  periods  has  never  known. 


136  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

II.  The  Household  of  Caesar.  We  cannot  describe 
it  so  as  at  the  same  time  to  convey  a  just  impres- 
sion of  its  character  and  retain  the  reserve  which- 
propriety  demands.  When  we  enter  it  in  thought, 
what  dreadful  memories  of  guilt  start  up  from  every 
corridor  and  hall!  If  one  should  seek  the  most 
striking  demonstration  of  the  unfitness  of  man  to 
be  put  in  the  possession  of  unlimited  power,  and  the 
awfully  degrading  and  polluting  effects  of  it  on  the 
character  of  those  who  come  under  its  immediate 
influence,  as  well  as  the  general  demoralization  of 
a  whole  age  and  empire  which  it  involves,  he  could 
find  nowhere  such  ample  proofs  of  his  position  as  in 
the  house  of  Csesar,  from  the  reign  of  Augustus  to 
that  of  Vespasian. 

Before  we  look  in  upon  its  inmates,  of  the  period 
of  St.  Paul's  sojourn  at  Rome,  let  us  glance  at  some 
who  have  preceded  them.  What  a  tangle  of  intrigues, 
crimes,  and  woes  does  the  family  history  of  the  Cae- 
sars present !  It  is  a  revolting  medley  of  adoptions, 
divorces,  remarryings,  adulteries,  incests,  betrayals, 
and  murders.  Augustus,  mourning  the  untimely 
death  of  his  destined  heir  and  successor,  the  young 
Marcellus,  over  whom  Virgil  poured  such  melodious 
lamentations,  begins  this  deplorable  history,  which 
deepens  in  tragic  horrors  to  the  end  of  Nero's  reign. 
That  death  was  soon  followed  by  that  of  his  two 
nephews,  Caius  and  Lucius,  who  are  believed  to 
have  fallen  victims  to  his  own  wife's  ambition  for 
her  son  Tiberius.  His  reluctant  consent  to  the 
succession  of  Tiberius,  whose  horrible  temper  and 
veiled  vices  the  sagacious  Emperor  discerned ;  his 
repudiation  of  his  third  wife  because  of  her  de- 
praved manners;  the  banishment  of  his  daughter 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  137 

Julia,  and  again  of  Tier  daughter  Julia,  to  desolate 
islands,  because  of  their  intolerable  and  shameless  li- 
.centiousness ;  himself  perhaps  the  victim  of  his  wife's 
impatience  to  see  her  son  Tiberius  upon  the  throne, 
— all  this  exhibits  the  great  Augustus  as  wretched  in\ 
his  private  as  he  was  fortunate  in  his  public  careerj 
Tiberius,  his  successor,  is  believed  to  have  caused 
the  murder  of  the  too  popular  and  well-beloved  Ger- 
manicus,  his  nephew,  the  idol  of  the  army  and  of 
the  people,  and  is  known  to  have  destroyed  his  two 
sons,  Nero  and  Drusus,  the  heirs  of  his  popularity 
and  virtues,  the  one  by  famine  in  a  distant  island, 
and  the  other  by  poison  in  the  imperial  palace. 
He  destroyed  also  the  harmless  and  incompetent 
Agrippa  Posthumus.  Two  sisters  of  Caligula  were 
banished  because  of  their  immoralities,  and  a  third, 
guiltier  than  either,  remained  in  the  palace,  as  if  to 
prove  that  no  conceivable  crime  should  be  wanting 
to  the  house  of  the  Csesars.  In  this  imperial  pile} 
of  the  Palatine  hill,  resplendent  with  gold  and  beau- 
tiful with  art,  here  is  the  crypt  where  Caligula  was 
murdered ;  here  the  cell  wThere  Drusus  died  of  hun- 
ger, gnawing  the  leather  of  his  sandals,  and  cursing 
Tiberius;  here  the  festive  hall  where  Britannicus  was 
poisoned,  and  the  garden  where  Messalina  perished. 
Crime  kept  pace  with  luxury,  and  was  as  exagge- 
rated as  the  splendor  with  which  it  was  associated ; 
and  in  the  language  of  Tacitus,  Locusta,  the  female^ 
poisoner,  became  an  instrument  of  Government.  ' 

Under  Claudius,  a  dull  and  gross,  but  not  cruel 
Emperor, — the  tool  of  his  freedmen  and  his  wives, — 
crime  held  high  saturnalia  in  the  halls  of  the  Caesars. 
The  names  of  Messalina  and  Agrippina,  the  last  two 
wives  of  Claudius,  and  the  latter  his  own  niece,  oc- 


138  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

cupy  a  place  of  infamy  in  history  which  it  would 
have  been  supposed  could  not  have  been  equaled,  if 
Poppea,  the  wife  of  Nero,  had  not  subsequently  ap-. 
peared.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  abjectness  of  Claudius' 
subserviency  to  his  two  infamous  wives,  to  find  that 
a  grave  historian  of  the  empire  gives,  as  the  title  of 
one  of  his  chapters,  "The  Government  of  Messa- 
lina,"  and  of  the  other,  "The  Domination  of  Agrip- 
pina."  When  we  read  the  history  of  the  former  we 
seem  to  follow  the  adventures  of  one  who  is  by  turns 
a  wild  bacchante,  incapable  of  thought,  and  an  im- 
placable fury;  and  the  narrative  sounds  like  an  ill- 
constructed  and  incredible  romance.  The  stolid 
Emperor,  at  last  convinced  of  her  guilt,  after  all 
Rome  had  known  it  long,  commanded  that  she 
should  be  slain ;  and  concluded  his  dinner  when  the 
news  had  been  brought  to  him  that  his  orders  had 
been  executed.  The  incident  reminds  us  of  Nero's 
turning  upon  his  couch  to  see  Britannicus  carried 
out,  convulsed  with  the  poison  that  had  been  pre- 
pared in  his  own  chamber,  with  the  remark  that  his 
brother  had  been  subject  to  epilepsy  from  his  boy- 
hood, and  then  resuming  his  meal.  In  the  history 
of  Agrippina,  we  find  all  the  vices  fearfully  devel- 
oped, but  all  mastered  by  a  political  craft  and  ambi- 
tion which  remind  us  of  the  policy  which  Machia- 
velli  preached  and  Caesar  Borgia  practiced.  Such 
were  some  of  the  shapes  which  start  up  before  us  as 
we  enter  Caesar's  house. 

There  Nero  reigns  and  revels,  the  last  of  the  dy- 
nasty of  the  Caesars.  That  dynasty  indeed  was  not 
composed  of  a  single  family,  but  of  four  connected 
families,  which  by  marriage  and  adoption  consti- 
tuted the  imperial  stock.  The  succession  passed 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ROME.  139 

from  them  on  the  death  of  Nero  and  the  accession 
of  Galba.  There  is  a  singular  illustration  of  the 
.dying  out  of  this  guilty  race  mentioned  by  the  his- 
torian Suetonius.  Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus,  planted  * 
a  laurel  grove,  whence  each  of  the  Emperors  gath- 
ered the  leaves  for  his  triumphal  crowns,  and  where 
each  one  planted  a  new  tree.  It  was  observed  at 
the  death  of  each  of  them  that  the  tree  which  he 
had  planted  died  also;  and  that  a  little  before  the/ 
death  of  Nero  the  entire  grove  perished.  A  stroke 
of  lightning  knocked  off  the  heads  of  all  the  statues 
of  the  Emperors,  and  broke  the  scepter  which  the 
hand  of  that  of  Augustus  held.  It  is  also  a  curious 
fact,  in  this  connection,  that  the  beautiful  statue  of 
Augustus,  which  is  now  in  the  Braccia  Nuora,  in  the 
Vatican,  was  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  villa  of  Livia; 
and  that  when  I  saw  it,  previous  to  its  removal,  it 
was  lying  as  it  was  found,  with  its  head  off,  and  the 
arm  which  held  the  scepter  broken  by  its  side.  CX 

It  is  indeed  a  remarkable  history,  that  of  the  dy-") 
nasty  of  the   Caesars.      In   the   genealogy  of  the 
Caesars,  by  Lipsius,  it  is  found  that  out  of  forty- 
three   persons,  of  whom   it  may  have    been   said 
strictly  to  have  been  composed,  thirty-two  perished      < 
by  violence.     From  the  death  of  Caesar  under  the  - 
daggers  of  the  conspirators,  to  the  pitiable  suicide 
of  the  craven  Nero,  no  Caesar  died  without  crime, 
or  the  strong  suspicion  of  crime.     No  Emperor  had 
a  son  for  a  successor.     The  wretched  end  of  the 
daughter  and  granddaughter  of  Augustus;  the  son 
of  Tiberius  poisoned  by  Sejanus,  his  grandson  by 
Caligula,  and  his  granddaughter  by  Messalina;  the 
daughter  of  Caligula,  but  two  years  old,  condemned 
to  die;  the  children  of  Claudius,  Octavia,  Antonia, 


\^elty 


140  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

and  Britannicus,  all  slain  by  their  adopted  brother 
]^~ero,  —  all  this  is  in  the  direct  line  of  the  Caesars.  Of 
the  sixteen  wives  of  the  five  Csesars,  six  perished  by 
a  violent  death,  seven  were  repudiated,  three  only, 
by  a  prompt  death  or  a  fortunate  widowhood,  es- 
caped divorce  or  punishment.  An  historian  has 
well  remarked  that  there  never  has  been  such  cru- 

,  because  there  has  never  been  such  power. 
And  now  behold  this  lord  of  the  nations,  the  last 
and  most  miserable  of  his  race,  free  from  the  re- 
straints of  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  surrounded  by 
the  subservient  ministers  of  his  pleasures  and  his  ty- 
rannies, who  smile  and  natter  him  in  his  presence 
and  tremble  in  his  absence.  The  usual  impression 
of  Nero  is  that  of  a  licentious,  cruel,  and  brutal  per- 
son, with  all  his  evil  portentously  developed  by  the 
possession  of  power  greater  in  fact  than  that  which 
was  attributed  by  heathenism  to  the  gods,  and  by 
the  absolute  subserviency,  flattery,  and  kindred  de- 
pravity of  all  around  him.  This  conception  of  his 
character  is  just,  but  insufficient.  He  was  not  a 
bold  and  brutal  imperial  gladiator,  with  low  tastes 
and  vulgar  vices,  like  Caracalla;  nor  was  he  like 
Maximinius,  a  rude  provincial  soldier,  carrying 
from  the  camp  the  taste  and  manners  of  a  Goth 
into  the  palace  of  the  Caesars.  He  was  a  person  of 
elegant  tastes  and  manners.  He  gathered  philoso- 
phers about  his  table.  He  wrote  such  verses  as 
Seneca  condescended  to  praise  and  quote.  Archi- 
tecture was  with  him  a  passion,  and  music  little  less 
than  a  frenzy.  He  was  also,  as  Tacitus  informs  us, 
a  painter  and  a  sculptor.  In  early  life  his  bearing 
conveyed  an  impression  of  modesty  and  timidity. 
He  blushed  easily,  and  shrank,  seemingly  more  in 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  141 

mortification  than  in  anger,  from  censure  and  dis- 
praise. But,  in  fact,  lie  had  no  good  qualities;  the 
worst  blood  of  Rome  was  in  him.  He  seemed  to 
inherit  and  combine  from  his  brutal  father  and 
dreadful  mother  all  the  worst  male  and  female  vices. 
His  artist  taste  and  habits  exercised  over  him  no 
humanizing  influence ;  on  the  contrary,  they  stimu- 
lated him  to  wild  extravagances  and  to  personal  and 
official  degradation.  When  Rome  was  burning,  he 
came  up  from  Ostia  on  the  third  day,  and  gave  or- 
ders that  the  flames  should  not  be  arrested.  His 
artist  nature  enjoyed  the  magnificent  terrors  which 
could  not  harm  him,  and  which  he  saw  would  ena- 
ble him  to  indulge  in  new  luxuries  of  architecture, 
and  in  the  ornamentation  and  reconstruction  of  the 
city. 

With  this  character  and  these  tastes  Nero  grew 
up  in  the  court  of  Claudius  in  the  charge  of  a 
dancer  and  a  barber,  in  a  school  of  maternal  and  im- 
perial pollution,  a  rapid  pupil  under  elaborate  mas- 
ters, in  all  the  arts  of  splendid  vice.  His  seeming 
modesty  was  but  the  furtive  and  stealthy  stealing 
away  from  observation  which  was  appropriate  to  his 
essentially  tiger  nature.  Cruel  in  heart,  and  yet  a 
thorough  coward,  he  dared  not  indulge  in  cruelty 
unless  he  could  do  it  with  perfect  safety,  and  unless 
he  was  lashed  into  audacity  by  terror.  He  was  not  \ 
satisfied  unless  he  could  put  more  than  one  vice  into 
a  single  action.  His  sensuality  could  not  be  fully 
gratified  unless  it  were  connected  with  the  betrayal 
and  banishment  of  a  friend.  Cunning  by  inheritance 
from  his  mother,  and  under  her  subtle  training,  he 
became  an  overmatch  for  her  before  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  imposed  upon  her  by  [elaborate 

18 


142  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

courtesies  and  filial  kisses,  when  at  Bail  he  assisted 
her  into  a  boat  which  he  had  had  constructed  for  her 
destruction ;  and  yet,  though  cunning  and  remorse- 
less, still  so  timid  and  superstitious,  that  after  the 
news  had  been  brought  to  him  of  his  mother's  mur- 
der in  obedience  to  his  command,  he  paced  the  floor 
of  his  chamber  all  night  in  the  wildest  terror,  and 
fancied  that  he  could  hear  the  voice  of  his  murdered 
victim  in  the  sound  of  the  breeze  which  came  from 
the  shore  where  the  horrid  deed  was  done. 

From  that  period  it  would  seem  as  if  he  could  en- 
joy only  when  he  made  others  suffer.  Afraid,  after  this 
deed,  to  meet  the  senate  and  the  people,  he  yet  could 
not  be  content  with  their  mere  abject  acquiescence, 
but  must  put  upon  them  a  pressure  which  would 
force  the  people,  in  craven  fear,  to  come  forth  and 
meet  him  with  processions,  and  garlands,  and  music, 
and  the  senate  to  address  to  him  the  most  fulsome 
adulations.  It  was  not  enough  that  Seneca  should 
not  blame;  he  must  compose  a  panegyric  upon  the 
deed.  The  craven  tyrant  must  have  the  base  gratifica- 
tion of  feeling  that  how  low  soever  he  may  sink  in  in- 
famy, the  senate  and  the  people  must  sink  still  lower, 
and  hold  him  up  with  their  flattery  and  approbation. 
His  relish  of  iniquity  is  heightened  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  real  abhorrence  of  those  out  of  whom  his 
power  crushes  praise.  When  he  appears  upon  the 
stage  to  play  upon  the  harp,  he  is  not  content  to 
have  broken  down  the  old  Roman  sentiment,  which 
made  such  performances,  even  in  private,  a  degrada- 
tion to  a  patrician,  but  a  man  of  consular  dignity 
must  stand  by  his  side  to  hold  his  harp,  and  a  consul 
must  bespeak  the  indulgence  of  the  audience  for  the 
blushing  candidate  for  their  approbation;  and  he 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  143 

must  set  the  whole  proud  aristocracy  of  Rome  to 
fiddling  and  driving  chariots,  and  even  to  wrestling 
with  gladiators  in  the  public  arena.  As  an  actor,  he 
cannot  enjoy  the  enforced  applauses  of  the  people  of 
his  poor  squeaking  singing,  and  all  the  crowns  of 
victory  which  he  brings  from  his  trip  as  Emperor- 
actor  from  Greece,  unless  he  murders  his  rival  and 
teacher  in  music  and  companion  in  revelry,  and  hears 
Seneca  praise  his  "generosa  vox,"  his  rich  voice.  His 
cruelty  will  be  without  a  condiment  sharp  enough 
to  please  his  palled  appetite,  unless  he  receives  from 
Seneca  a  fulsome  dedication  to  him  of  his  treatise 
upon  clemency.  He  has  no  other  conception  of' 
hilarity  than  that  which  involved  pain  in  others ;  for 
when  he  and  Otho  issue  out  in  wild  revelry  at  night, 
it  is  to  rush  drunken  through  the  streets  and  to 
knock  down  and  bruise  unoffending  citizens,  while  ; 
a  guard  attends  not  far  off  to  save  the  imperial  mis--' 
creant  from  harm. 

At  the  period  of  which  I  write,  this  dreadful  spirit, 
thus  given  up  to  evil  self-will,  and  free  from  all  its 
old  restraints,  is  the  master  of  the  world.  It  de- 
veloped rapidly  in  that  career  of  unparalleled  ini- 
quity which  culminated  in  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians,  the  burning  of  Rome,  the  wild  extrava- 
gances of  the  Golden  House,  and  went  out  in  the 
pitiful  and  reluctant  suicide,  which  proved  him  to 
have  been  the  meanest  and  most  cowardly,  as  well 
in  proportion  to  his  capacities  the  worst  of  all  the 
Caesars.  It  was  a  fearful  exhibition  of  what  a  writer 
forcibly  calls  the  imperial  mania,  "a  double  excite- 
ment born  of  danger  and  of  power,  of  desire  without 
limits,  and  of  fear  without  cessation,  of  the  rage  for 
enjoyment,  and  the  dread  of  death." 


144  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

And  now  there  is  no  one  to  stand  in  Nero's  way. 
Burrus,  of  whom  he  was  most  in  awe,  is  dead,  and 
his  place  is  supplied  by  the  supple  Tigillanus, 
whose  name  is  inseparably  associated  in  infamy  with 
that  of  his  master.  Seneca  falls  under  a  cloud. 
Courtiers  whisper  that  Nero  has  been  too  long  in 
tutelage  to  a  pedagogue  whose  creed  was  indeed 
stoical,  but  whose  practice  was  epicurean.  They 
point  out  the  extent  of  his  villas  and  gardens  and 
estates,  and  proclaim  that  his  wealth  and  luxury  ap- 
proach too  near  the  imperial  standard  for  a  subject. 
Seneca,  alarmed,  hastens  to  lay  them  all  at  the  im- 
perial feet,  and  to  beg  to  be  released  from  a  ser- 
vice which  his  sagacity  advised  him  would  soon  be 
taken  from  him ;  and  the  Emperor,  playing  his  part 
in  the  comedy  well,  dismisses  him  with  many  com- 
pliments, and  postpones  his  murder  and  the  confis- 

r  cation  of  his  goods  to  another  time.  He  retires  to 
one  of  his  humbler  villas,  and  writes  some  of  those 
admirable  moralities  and  lofty  sentiments  of  superi- 
ority, to  fate  and  fortune  which  would  have  been 
more  impressive  if  we  did  not  know  that  they  were 
written  after  a  life  of  eager  pursuit  of  wealth  and 
honors,  by  one  who,  if  he  were  not  the  counselor, 
as  some  believe,  was  certainly  the  apologist  of  the 
murder  of  Agrippina,  and  the  ready  flatterer  of  Nero 

^whenever  he  fell  short  of  being  excessively  atrocious. 
But  the  evil  inspiration  of  this  period  of  his  life 
was  the  beautiful,  gifted,  quiet,  soft-spoken,  graceful 
fiend, — shall  I  call  her ? — Poppea.  Her  portrait  lives 
in  ineffaceable  colors  on  the  page  of  Tacitus.  To 
her  there  was  nothing  wanting,  he  declares,  but 
virtue ;  the  rarest  beauty,  the  loftiest  rank,  with  an 
equal  fortune,  were  her  inheritance.  She  was  mod- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  145 

est  in  manners,  but  utterly  shameless  in  practice. 
Married  to  a  Roman  knight,  she  was  divorced  to 
marry  Otho,  who  was  subsequently  Emperor.    Nero, 
fascinated  by  her,  sent  Otho  away  as  Governor  of 
Lusitania,  and  wished  her  to  be  divorced.     But  her^) 
aim  was  to  share  the  imperial  throne,  and  ruling' 
Nero  to  rule  the  world.    She  refused  to  be  divorced' 
until  she  could  be  sure  of  her  victim,  and  prepared 
to  clear  the  way  for  herself  in  the  palace  by  the  re- 
moval of  Agrippina  the  mother,  and  Octavia  the, 
wife,  of  Nero.    It  was  by  her  prompting  that  Agrip- 
pina disappeared.     The  divorce  and  destruction  of 
Octavia,  the  wife  of  Nero,  is  one  of  the  most  mourn- 
ful incidents  of  a  reign  full  of  tragic  woe.    The  stern 
historian  Tacitus  becomes  softened  as  he  narrates 
the  story  of  the  young,  beautiful,  and  virtuous  Oc- 
tavia; the  only  specimen  of  pure  and  lofty  woman-  , 
hood  which  the  history  of  that  period  presents. 

She  was  divorced  and  exiled  by  Nero  at  the  bid-' 
ding  of  Poppea.  But  this  outrage  was  too  great  to 
be  borne  peaceably  by  even  the  abject  Roman  popu- 
lace, by  whom  Octavia  was  beloved  and  honored,  as 
Agrippina,  the  wife  of  Germanicus,  had  been  in  the 
reign  of  Tiberius.  They  made  such  clamorous  and 
passionate  cries  for  her  recall  about  the  palace,  that 
the  tyrant  was  alarmed,  and  she  was  brought  back 
from  exile.  The  news  of  her  recall  was  welcomed 
by  such  a  popular  demonstration  as  increased  Nero's 
fear.  The  people  rushed  to  the  Capitol  to  return 
thanks  to  the  gods;  some  overthrew  the  statues  of 
Poppea,  others  carried  those  of  Octavia  on  their 
shoulders,  crowned  with  flowers ;  the  palace  was  be- 
sieged by  joyful  multitudes  who  had  come  to  thank 
Ceesar  for  his  clemency.  His  return  for  the  unwel- 


146  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

come  demonstration  of  gratitude  was  an  order  to 
drive  them  away  with  clubs  and  with  the  display  of 

x  naked  swords. 

Then  with  simulated  fears,  with  tears,  with  ap- 
peals to  Nero's  pride  and  passion,  Poppea  demanded 
the  sacrifice  of  the  innocent  rival  whom  she  hated 
intensely  because  she  wronged  her  grossly  in  sup- 
planting her  and  driving  her  from  her  home  and 
throne.  A  charge  of  adultery  was  vamped  up.  Ani- 
ceta,  the  murderer  of  Agrippina,  was  the  infamous 
instrument  of  the  plot.  Octavia's  faithful  slaves  were 
in  vain  tortured  to  extort  false  witness  against  her. 
C  "Never  did  an  exile  draw  more  tears  from  the 
eyes  of  those  who  were  its  witnesses.  They  re- 
membered Agrippina  banished  by  Tiberius,  and 
more  recently,  Julia  driven  away  by  Claudius.  But 
they  were  in  the  vigorous  years  of  life.  They  had 
'known  some  happy  days.  But  Octavia's  marriage 
day  was  fatal  to  her.  The  house  she  entered  pre- 
sented only  subjects  of  mourning:  her  father  pois- 

|  oned,  she,  the  mistress  of  the  mansion,  humbled 
before  a  slave,  Poppea  espoused  for  her  destruction, 
and  she  the  victim  of  an  accusation  more  cruel  than 
the  death  which  was  to  follow.  This  young  crea- 
ture, in  the  twentieth  year  of  her  age,  surrounded 
by  centurions  and  soldiers,  the  presage  of  her 
coming  destruction,  could  not  resign  herself  to  her 
doom.  She  was  ordered  to  prepare  herself  for 
death  in  a  few  days.  She  entreated  Nero,  no 
longer  as  his  wife  but  as  his  sister;  she  invoked 
their  common  relations  to  Germanicus,  and  em- 
ployed even  the  name  of  Agrippina  to  induce  him 
to  spare  her  life.  But  in  vain.  She  was  bound 
with  chains  and  her  veins  opened,  and  as  the  blood, 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  147 

arrested  by  terror,  did  not  flow  freely,  she  was 
thrown  into  a  hot  bath,  by  the  vapor  of  which  she 
was  strangled.  By  a  refinement  of  cruelty  her 
head  was  cut  off  and  sent  to  Rome  and  placed  be- 
fore Poppea.  Then  thanks  and  offerings  were 
presented  in  the  temples.  And  this  I  mention," 
says  the  historian,  "in  order  that  those  who  wish  to 
understand  the  sorrows  of  this  epoch,  may  know 
that  after  every  execution,  thanks  were  presented  to 
the  gods,  a  token  formerly  of  prosperity  but  then  a 
sign  of  slaughter  and  of  woe."  (Tacitus,  Annalium,  J 
lib.  xiv.  63,  64.) 

One  feels,  after  reading  such  a  narrative,  that  the 
feigned  avenging  Nemesis  of  the  heathen,  which  is 
God's  real  moral  retribution,  would  have  slept  too 
long  if  she  had  not  made  E~ero  destroy  Poppea  by 
personal  brutal  violence,  and  at  last  driven  him,  a 
cowering  and  trembling  wretch,  consciously  loaded 
with  the  imprecations  of  the  world,  to  the  cowardly 
death  which  he  neither  dared  to  meet  nor  shun, 
which  overtook  him  in  the  poor  coal-hole  of  his 
freedman  isTaon,  while  weeping  and  exclaiming — 
"what  a  great  artist  is  about  to  die!" 

Such  were  the  master  and  mistress  of  Caesar's 
house,  surrounded  by  an  army  of  guards  and  servi- 
tors and  ministers  of  every  luxury  and  pleasure. 
If  one  at  that  period  should  have  passed  up  the 
steps  of  the  palace,  he  would  have  found  the  atrium 
divided  into  many  portions  by  large  curtains.  By 
dint  of  entreating  the  freedmen  and  bribing  the 
porters,  he  might  penetrate  to  the  peristyle  in  view 
of  the  crowd  that  waited  to  pass  to  the  private  quar- 
ters of  the  Emperor.  There  Caesar,  such  as  we  see 
him  still  iii  his  busts  and  medals,  might  have  been 


148  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

seen  lolling  perhaps  upon  a  couch,  or  trifling  upon 
his  harp.  All  around  him  would  be  seen  the 
statues  of  the  ancient  families,  which  made  up  the 
imperial  stock — the  Julii,  the  Domitii,  the  Claudii — 
and  the  little  grotesque  images  of  the  household 
gods.  Gathering  near  him  a  crowd  of  courtiers 
would  be  seen  endeavoring  to  arrest  his  attention, 
elated  at  his  least  notice  and  turning  pale  at  a  glance 
or  word  of  displeasure.  There  were  patricians  and 
freedmen,  parvenu  slaves  and  ruined  nobles,  lackeys 
converted  into  senators,  and  senators  with  his- 
toric and  heroic  names,  and  with  spirits  as  abject  as 
those  of  lackeys,  all  in  search  of  profitable  employ- 
ment. There  also  was  a  crowd  of  astrologers, 
Jews,  buffoons,  philosophers,  deputies  from  distant 
cities,  ambassadors  from  the  Parthians  and  Ger- 
mans, tributary  kings,  music  men,  mimics,  chariot- 
eers and  gladiators,  and  nearest  to  him  the  watchful 
slave  who  carried  a  perfumed  handkerchief  to  put 
below  his  mouth,  when  too  rough  a  breath  of  air 
from  the  uncourtly  Apennines  came  to  put  in  peril 
the  tone  of  the  imperial  voice  which  was  that  day 
to  charm  a  delighted  audience  in  the  gardens  of 
Adonis.  Suddenly,  from  out  the  inner  court  of  the 
palace,  the  Empress  Poppea,  radiant  with  pomp  and 
with  her  conscious  supremacy,  swept  through  the 
crowd  with  her  brilliant  bevy  of  attendants,  for  a 
drive  to  some  pleasure  house  upon  the  Campagna. 

Such  was  the  house,  the  household,  and  the  occu- 
pations, and  such  the  memories  of  guilt  and  splen- 
dor on  that  then  scene  of  glory,  but  now  of  desola- 
tion, the  Palatine  hill. 

III.  What  a  contrast  to  the  heathen  household  of 
Caesar  were  the  saints  who  were  there,  and  the  other 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  149 

saints  in  Rome !  "Who  were  the  saints  of  Caesar's 
house  we  are  not  informed.  They  were  probably, 
for  the  most  part,  humble  members  of  the  house- 
hold. They  may  have  been  the  servants  and  sol- 
diers of  the  Praetorium.  It  was  probably  through 
the  soldiers  that  the  knowledge  of  St.  Paul  was  dif- 
fused through  the  household  of.  Caesar.  Each  one, 
as  he  came  from  the  day's  duty  of  guarding  the 
Apostle,  would  speak  of  his  preaching  to  the  group 
assembled  in  his  house,  or  of  his  personal  appeals 
to  himself.  Each  convert  thus  won,  with  the  char- 
acteristic zeal  of  that  early  period,  would  communi- 
cate the  fact  of  his  conversion  and  repeat  the  mes- 
sage of  salvation.  St.  Paul  ascribes  this  precise 
influence  to  his  bonds.  "  But  I  would  that  ye 
should  understand,  brethren,  that  the  things  which 
have  happened  unto  me  have  fallen  out  rather  to 
the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel ;  so  that  my  bonds  in 
Christ  are  manifest  in  all  the  palace  and  in  all 
other  places,  and  many  of  the  brethren  in  the  Lord 
waxing  confident  by  my  bonds,  are  much  more  bold 
to  speak  the  Word  without  fear."  (Phil.  i.  14.)  His 
bonds  were  known  in  the  Praetorium.  and  thence  in 
all  other  places;  brethren,  encouraged  by  his  suc- 
cess and  impunity  in  preaching  while  thus  bound, 
more  boldly  and  openly  proclaimed  the  faith. 
Doubtless  it  was  chiefly  among  the  servants  and 
the  humbler  inmates  of  Caesar's  house  that  the  first 
converts  were  to  be  found.  "Ye  see  your  calling, 
brethren,"  says  St.  Paul,  "how  that  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  wise,  not  many  noble  are  called." 
An  interesting  coincidence  of  names  with  some 
of  those  in  the  close  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans is  found  in  the  Columbaria  of  the  Yigna 

19 


150  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Codini  which  contains  the  ashes  of  many  of  the 
household  of  the  Csesars.  There  we  find  the  name 
of  Tryphena — the  same  as  that  of  one  of  the  women 
who  labored  in  the  Lord.  The  name  of  Philologus 
and  Julia  are  also  there,  and  "Amplias  the  beloved 
of  the  Lord  "  has  also  a  namesake  there.  These  cor- 
respondences, if  they  are  no  more,  intimate  at  least 
that  the  Eoman  Church  at  that  period  consisted 
chiefly  of  persons  of  the  humbler  classes. 

Saints  in  Ceesar's  household !  And  if  there  were 
saints  there  then,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  no  place 
of  temptation  and  of  trial  in  which  men  may  not 
be  Christians.  Every  influence  against  becoming 
Christians,  in  fact  and  in  profession,  and  each  in  its 
highest  intensity,  must  have  been  exerted  in  the 
house  of  Nero.  It  is  probable  that  no  palace  ever 
held  more  degraded  and  abandoned  beings,  .and 
that  in  none  were  dependents  ever  compelled  to 
more  polluting  services  than  those  which  then 
thronged  the  halls  of  Nero.  The  lust  of  the  flesh, 
the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of  life  enjoyed 
there  a  perpetual  saturnalia.  Their  habits  must 
have  made  excessive  self-indulgence  and  worldli- 
iiess  a  second  nature.  All  worldly  interests  were  on 
the  side  of  Paganism.  Hatred,  ridicule,  and  con- 
tempt must  have  been  in  such  a  scene  a  Christian's 
daily  and  hourly  experience.  The  liability  to  the 
outbreak  of  fanatical  hatred  into  bloody  persecution 
must  have  been  constant.  In  such  a  scene  Christ's 
disciples  must  have  known  well  what  the  Master 
meant,  by  taking  up  the  cross  daily  and  following 
him.  Yet  all  these  adverse  influences  were  resisted 
by  some.  There  were  saints  in  Nero's  household. 
.  The  scorn  and  contumely  with  which  Christians 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  151 

may  have  been  treated  in  Caesar's  palace  appear 
from  the  remarkable  graffito,  or  rude  sketch,  made 
by  a  sharp  stylus  in  the  cement  of  a  wall  in  one  of 
the  lower  apartments  of  the  palace  of  Tiberius,  the 
quarters  of  the  servants  and  the  Praetorian  guards, 
which  has  been  transferred  to  the  museum  of  the 
Collegio  Romano.  The  sketch  represents  the  figure  > 
of  a  man  with  the  head  of  an  ass;  the  arms  are' 
stretched  upon  a  cross,  and  the  feet  rest  upon  a 
transverse  support.  On  the  right,  and  a  little  be-i 
low,  a  man  is  represented  in  an  attitude  of  devo- 
tion. The  inscription  in  rude  Greek  characters  is, 
"Alexamenos  is  adoring  God."  It  is  probably  the 
work  of  an  inmate  or  servant  of  the  palace  who 
thus  ridicules  the  religion  of  his  fellow- servant  or 
inmate.  The  Jews  were  represented  by  Tacitus  as 
rendering  divine  homage  to  the  ass,  and  Christians  ! 
were  at  this  time  considered  as  only  a  baser  sort  of 
Jews.  This  constitutes  a  singular  and  striking 
proof,  in  the  very  palace  of  the  Caesars,  of  the  con- 
tumelies to  which  Christians  were  then  exposed. 
It  is  also  remarkable  that  the  earliest  authentic 
representation  of  Christ  upon  the  cross  should  be 
thus  rude  and  scornful.  To  take  up  the  cross  in 
Caesar's  household  is  thus  proved  to  have  been  an-^ 
other  name  for  exposure  to  ridicule  and  shame. 

But  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  some  mighty 
and  wise  and  noble  connected  with  Caesar's 'house 
were  called  to  the  faith  of  Christ.  There  are  some 
patrician  names  among  those  to  whom  St.  Paul 
sends  his  Christian  salutations,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  Ecclesiastical  history  also  confirms  this  fact. 
And  what  a  lesson  does  the  fact  read  to  those  who 
in  public  life  in  our  day  declare  that  it  is  almost  if 


152  '     ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

not  quite  impossible  to  be  at  the  same  time  a  states- 
man and  a  Christian;  to  serve  at  the  same  time 
God  and  Csesar;  to  discharge  the  duties  of  public 
life  and  those  of  a  strict  and  holy  follower  of  Christ ! 
Yet  how  evidently  is  their  position  less  adverse  to 
the  claims  of  Christ  than  that  of  those  who  pro- 
fessed faith  in  Him  in  Caesar's  court!  They  were 
born  in  a  Christian  community.  They  inherit  a 
Christian  sentiment.  They  are  surrounded  by 
Christian  influences.  The  government  with  which 
they  are  connected  is  nominally  Christian,  and  its 
constitution  and  laws  enshrine  the  principles  of 
Christian  morality.  There  is  nothing  in  the  occu- 
pation and  duties  of  government  in  any  of  its  de- 
partments which  is  in  itself  demoralizing.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  a  most  lofty  calling.  The  application 
of  the  principles  of  justice  to  the  government  of  a 
great  people  for  their  security,  their  development, 
their  prosperity,  and  their  happiness, — what  human 
function  can  be  nobler?  What  can  be  more  di- 
rectly in  the  line  of  the  Christian's  high  vocation, 
who,  while  he  works  out  his  own  salvation  with  fear 
and  trembling,  is  also  laboring  to  fashion  and  fix 
society  in  such  a  position  as  shall  best  fit  it  to  pro- 
fess and  possess  faith  in  the  Son  of  G-od  ?  Nay,  the 
open  and  public  Christian  profession  of  a  public 
man  by  no  means  robs  him  of  public  honor  and 
regard.  It  only  so  restricts  him  that  he  cannot 
well  work  with  those  with  whom  politics  is  a  trade, 
and  the  only  trade  in  which  dishonesty  is  not  dis- 
honorable. But  the  public  honor  him  all  the  more 
for  his  profession  of  the  Christian  faith  if  it  shows 
itself  brave,  genuine,  and  consistent.  The  public 
knows  not  how  to  express  its  huge  delight  when 


ST.  PAUL   IN   RO 

it  finds  a  leader  and  commander 
oughly  honest,  true,  and  staunch  •* 
precisely  the  qualities  which  a  real  Chrisfclife  itfUTe' 
heart  produces.  Christian  men,  fitted  to  adorn 
their  country's  history  and  promote  their  country's 
good,  should  not  avoid  public  life  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  impossible  to  discharge  its  functions  and 
remain  true  to  Christian  principle.  The  saints  of 
Caesar's  household  cry  shame  on  their  unmanly 
weakness. 

-Hence  they  are  not  to  be  heard  or  heeded,  those 
godless  and  abandoned  men  wTith  whom  politics  is 
gambling  and  political  principles  but  the  loaded 
dice  with  which  they  play  the  dishonest  game. 
These  flatterers  and  plunderers  of  the  public,  golden- 
mouthed  orators,  whose  glittering  rhetoric  has  been 
gilded  in  the  public  mint,  warn  and  hoot  Christian 
men  from  the  ground  of  politics,  crying  out,  "Keep 
off  from  our  domains.  We  are  sovereigns  here ;  we 
have  pre-emptive  claims  to  this  field.  You  have  no 
right  to  come  here  with  your  strict  Christian  princi- 
ples. You  and  they  are  in  the  way.  Your  scruples 
are  a  bother.  Leave  politics  to  us.  We  understand 
them.  We  have  no  troublesome  misgivings.  You 
are  too  good.  Go  and  teach  Sunday-schools.  Sing 
psalms.  We  will  take  care  of  the  government.  You 
cannot  be  a  Christian  and  a  politician." 

Oh !  evil  it  is,  and  evil  it  has  been,  and  more  evil 
it  will  be,  because  these  men  are  believed,  and  be- 
cause they  so  often  frighten  or  disgust  God's  men 
from  the  field.  The  greatest  want  of  our  times  has 
been  and  is  the  want  of  saints  in  that  divine  institu- 
tion, the  state,  who  shall  comprehend  that  they  are 


154  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

placed  as  ministers  of  God  for  the  punishment  of 
evil-doers,  and  for  the  praise  of  those  that  do  well. 

IV.  But  there  were  other  saints  besides  those  in 
Csesar's  household  or  connected  with  Caesar's  court. 
"All the  saints,"  says  St.  Paul,  "salute  you." 

A  goodly  company  they  were!  Many  of  them 
were  soon  to  be  enrolled  among  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs.  Most  of  those  whom  St.  Paul  had  saluted 
a  few  years  previous  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
were  probably  alive  and  still  at  Rome.  We  know 
of  some  who  were  at  that  time  there.  Faithful  and 
affectionate  Epaphroditus,  so  tenderly  and  grate- 
fully mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  (Phil.  ii.  25-30,)  was 
there.  The  bearer  of  pecuniary  aid  from  the  Phil- 
ippians  to  St.  Paul,  he  was  sick  at  Rome  nigh  unto 
death,  but  seems  to  have  been  convalescent  when 
the  Apostle  wrote  his  Epistle.  Tychicus,  a  beloved 
brother  and  faithful  minister  and  fellow-servant  in 
the  Lord,  (Eph.  xxi.;  Col.  iv.  17;  2  Tim.  iv.  12,)  was 
also  at  Rome  during  St.  Paul's  residence.  Onesimus 
also  is  reckoned  among  the  beloved  brethren  by  the 
Apostle.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  manner  in 
which  he  is  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  in  his  Epistle  to 
the  Colossians.  He  went  with  Tychicus,  who  bore 
a  letter  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Colossians,  himself  bear- 
ing the  remarkable  letter  of  the  Apostle  to  Phile- 
mon, his  master.  While  the  Apostle  commits  him 
to  the  justice  of  his  master  as  a  slave  who  had 
wronged  him,  he  pleads  for  his  kindness  as  a  re- 
pentant and  converted  brother,  who  deserved  not 
only  his  pity  and  forgiveness,  but  his  esteem.  And 
at  the  same  time  that  Onesimus,  a  converted  fugitive 
slave,  of  his  own  will  returns  to  his  master  and  takes 
this  epistle,  he  is  commended  by  &t.  Paul  to  the 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  155 

church  at  Colosse,  in  connection  with  Tychicus  as 
equally  deserving  of  their  regard.  "Whom,"  speak- 
ing of  Tychicus,  he  says,  "I  send  unto  you  for  the 
same  purpose  that  he  might  know  your  estate,  and 
comfort  your  hearts;  with  Onesimus,  a  faithful  and 
beloved  brother,  who  is  one  of  you.  They  shall  make 
known  unto  you  all  things  which  are  done  here." 
(Col.  iv.  7-9.)  The  Christian  slave  is  put  on  a  pre- 
cise equality  with  another  honored  Christian  brother 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  It  is  a  striking  illustra- 
tion of  St.  Paul's  own  exhortation  to  Philemon  to 
treat  him  as  no  longer  a  slave,  but  above  a  slave,  as 
a  brother  in  the  Lord,  and  exhibits  the  inevitably 
emancipating  and  equalizing  power  of  the  true 
working  of  the  brotherhood  of  Christ. 

We  know  also  that  Aristarchus  was  at  Rome. 
He  accompanied  St.  Paul  there,  (Acts,  xix.  29; 
xxvii.  2,)  and  is  mentioned  as  his  fellow-prisoner. 
That  bond  of  fellow-imprisonment,  whether  at  Cse- 
sarea  or  at  Rome,  does  not  appear,  and  the  fidelity 
of  which  it  was  a  proof,  must  have  made  him  pe- 
culiarly dear  to  the  Apostle.  Justus,  a  converted 
Jew,  is  mentioned  as  one  who  had  been  a  comfort 
to  him  as  a  fellow-worker  unto  the  Kingdom. 
Epaphras,  (Col.  i.  7;  iv.  12,)  a  minister  of  the 
church  of  Colosse,  was  evidently  a  person  of  un- 
usual fervor.  St.  Paul  calls  him  his  "  dear  fellow- 
servant,"  a  faithful  minister  of  Christ,  always  la- 
boring fervently  for  the  Colossians  in  his  prayers, 
and  as  having  great  zeal  in  behalf  of  those  among 
whom  he  labored.  Demas  also  (Col.  iv.  14)  is 
joined  in  the  same  salutation  with  Luke,  the  be- 
loved physician.  Afterward  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
him  in  those  touching  words  in  which  there  is  much 


156  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

sorrow  and  no  anger.  "Demas  hath  forsaken  me, 
having  loved  this  present  world." 

But  those  in  whom  St.  Paul  must  have  taken  most 
comfort  at  Rome  were  Timothy,  his  son  in  the 
Gospel,  the  beloved  Luke,  and  Mark.  We  do  not 
know  the  reasons  for  the  absence  of  Timothy  from 
the  church  of  Ephesus,  in  the  charge  of  which  St. 
Paul  had  left  him  some  years  before ;  but  that  he  was 
not  about  to  return  there,  as  to  a  settled  and  exclu- 
sive Episcopate,  appears  from  St.  Paul's  declaration 
to  the  Philippians:  "I  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
send  Timotheus  shortly  unto  you,  that  I  also  may 
be  of  good  comfort  when  I  know  your  state." 
(Phil.  ii.  19.)  Timothy's  residence  at  Rome  and  St. 
Paul's  message  to  the  Philippians  prove  that  the 
apostleships  and  episcopates  of  that  day  were  mis- 
sionary rather  than  stationary.  St.  Luke  it  is  be- 
lieved, and  with  great  probability,  composed  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  under  the  eye  of  St.  Paul  while 
they  were  together  at  Rome.  If  they  had  been 
written  later,  St.  Luke  would  certainly  have  con- 
tinued the  history  of  St.  Paul.  Mark  also  was  with 
the  Apostle  (Col.  iv.  10,)  when  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the 
Asiatic  churches.  The  disagreement  which  led  to 
St.  Paul's  separation  from  him  several  years  before 
seems  to  have  been  entirely  forgotten.  If  to  these 
we  add  some  of  the  brethren  mentioned,  by  St.  Paul 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  others  like-minded 
and  like-hearted  not  mentioned,  we  see  the  Apostle 
surrounded  and  cheered  by  much  Christian  fellow- 
ship, sympathy,  and  affection. 

Great  indeed  must  have  been  the  strength  and 
consolation  which  the  Apostle  derived  from  these 
brethren  in  the  Lord.  We  know  that  sympathy  is 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  157 

sweet  in  proportion  to  the  bitterness  of  trials.  We 
know  that  Christian  fellowship  is  dear  just  in  the 
degree  in  which  one  is  surrounded  by  unchristian 
and  uncongenial  influences.  Hence  St.  Paul,  in 
bonds  and  living  amid  a  most  awfully  polluted 
Paganism,  must  have  richly  relished  the  converse 
and  sympathy,  the  mutual  faith  and  prayer  of 
Christian  brethren  and  friends.  Hence  the  terms  of 
tender  endearment  and  generous  praise  in  which 
their  names  are  mentioned.  He  speaks  of  them  as 
"beloved,"  as  "dear,"  as  "faithful,"  as  "those  that 
labor,"  that  "labor  much,"  that  "labor  exceedingly 
in  prayer,"  that  exhibit  "great  zeal,"  and  that  "long 
after"  their  converts  in  Christ.  "We  know  not  pre- 
cisely where,  but  probably  very  near  the  place  in 
which  we  now  worship,  these  brethren  met  with  St. 
Paul,  or  themselves  preached  and  prayed.  We  know 
how  and  what  they  preached,  and  to  whom  they 
prayed.  They  preached  Christ  and  him  crucified. 
They  prayed  only  to  the  Triune  God.  They  labored 
in  the  establishment  of  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  greater  contrast 
than  that  presented  by  the  house  and  household  of 
Csesar  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  saints  there  and  the 
other  saints  in  Rome  on  the  other.  It  was  Paganism 
in  its  utmost  power,  splendor,  and  corruption;  and 
it  was  Christianity  in  its  first  feebleness,  poverty,  and 
purity.  It  was  the  setting  of  a  lurid  and  baneful  sun, 
and  the  rising  of  a  pure  and  lustrous  day-star.  Nero 
and  Paul  represent,  each  in  the  highest  degree,  what 
the  world  and  the  Gospel  can  do  for  man.  The  one 
tormented  by  conscience  in  the  midst  of  boundless 
luxury  and  power.  The  other  joyful  on  the  verge 
of  martyrdom.  The  one  possessing  all  things  and 

20 


158  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

enjoying  nothing.  The  other  having  nothing  and 
yet  possessing  all  things.  The  one  corrupted  by 
power,  and  the  other  purified  by  suffering.  The  one 
driven  by  terror  into  the  arms  of  death  with  a  pas- 
sionate love  of  life,  and  the  horror  of  a  doom  to 
which  nothing  but  the  dread  of  a  direr  doom  could 
have  ever  urged  his  coward  soul.  The  other  ex- 
claiming, with  calm  eyes  fixed  upon  the  prepared 
altar  of  his  martyr-sacrifice,  "I  am  ready  to  be 
offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand!" 

Nero  and  his  court,  and  Paul  and  the  saints, — these 
are  the  parties  for  our  choice  which  God  is  ever  pre- 
senting to  us  all.  The  gain  of  the  world,  or  the  at- 
tempt to  gain  it,  or  the  saving  of  the  soul, — these  are 
the  alternatives. 

"Choose  ye  this  day  whom  YE  will  serve!" 


LECTURE   VII. 

ST.  PAUL'S  POSITION  IN   REFERENCE  TO  ESTABLISHED 
CUSTOMS  AND  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God. — ROMANS,  xiii.  1. 

THE  law's  delay  may  be  a  modern  phrase,  but  the 
fact  which  it  expresses  is  old.  It  was  exemplified 
in  the  case  of  St.  Paul.  He  arrived  in  Rome  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  A.D.  61.  His  accusers  were  not 
there.  The  Jews  in  Rome  had  not  even  heard  that 
they  were  coming.  By  the  Roman  law  it  was  essen- 
tial to  a  process  that  the  accuser  should  be  per- 
sonally present.  A  trial  might  therefore  be  long 
delayed.  An  accused  person  might  suffer  more  by 
delay  than  by  an  adverse  judgment.  Hence,  per- 
sonal malignity  might  hold  one  a  long  time  accused, 
in  restraint  or  imprisonment  and  obloquy,  without 
trial.  If  he  or  his  friends  had  not  sufficient  influ- 
ence to  bring  the  trial  on,  it  might  be  suspended 
for  years.  When  it  was  probable  that  the  accused 
might  be  acquitted,  it  is  evident  that  a  malicious 
accuser  might  wish  to  delay  the  trial.  By  thus 
delaying  justice,  he  might  obtain  what  he  sought 
— revenge. 

This  was  probably  the  policy  of  St.  Paul's  ac- 
cusers. The  case  was  one  which  evidently  had  no 
Roman  law  to  rest  upon.  Agrippa  had  openly  de- 
clared that  St.  Paul  might  have  been  released  if  he 
had  not  appealed  unto  Caesar. 

(159) 


160  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

But  quite  apart  from  the  intent  of  his  accusers, 
Paul's  case  was  one  which  would  be  likely  to  be 
long  delayed.  Witnesses  were  to  be  brought  from 
the  remotest  portions  of  the  empire.  The  conve- 
nience or  caprice  of  the  Emperor  in  hearing  the  case 
was  to  be  waited  for.  Tiberius  was  in  the  habit  of 
putting  off  trials  for  years.  Nero,  immersed  in  guilty 
pleasures  and  frivolous  pursuits,  would  not  be  likely 
to  be  more  prompt. 

But  the  period  of  delay  was  not  lost  or  wasted  by 
St.  Paul.  He  had  been  sent  by  the  Master  to  Rome 
to  preach  and  teach  Christ  and  his  kingdom.  Dili- 
gently and  faithfully  he  discharged  that  mission. 
Many  of  his  hearers  were  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

The  case  of  Onesimus,  the  fugitive  slave  of  Phil- 
emon, is  one  of  peculiar  interest.  Converted  by  St. 
Paul  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  he  was  sent  back  to  his 
master.  It  is  a  case  which  furnishes  a  proper  occa- 
sion on  which  to  consider  the  whole  subject  of  St. 
Paul's  views  and  feelings  in  relation  to  established 
customs  and  institutions. 

The  great  principle  on  which  St.  Paul  proceeded 
in  reference  to  all  established  customs  and  institu- 
tions,— by  which  we  shall  be  able  to  understand  all 
that  he  did  and  all  that  he  left  undone  in  reference  to 
them, — is  one  which  is  extremely  simple  and  intelli- 
gible. It  is  this :  he  did  not  attack  established  cus- 
toms and  institutions,  how  much  soever  of  evil 
sprang  from  them  directly  or  indirectly,  unless  they 
interfered  with,  or  prevented  the  personal  duty,  or 
personal  access  of  the  soul,  to  God.  He  attacked 
indeed,  directly  and  vigorously,  all  heathen  worship, 
because  it  was  treason  to  God  and  a  sacrifice  to 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  161 

devils ;  because  it  robbed  the  soul  of  its  privilege  of 
access  to  its  Heavenly  Father,  and  prevented  the 
discharge  of  its  duties  of  love  and  service  to  him. 
He  also  attacked  the  doctrine  of  the  present  obliga- 
tion of  the  abrogated  Jewish  economy,  because  it 
destroyed  the  Gospel.  These  were  the  interests  of 
that  spiritual  kingdom  which  he  came  to  administer. 
Everything  which  obtruded  itself  into  this  king- 
dom, as  truth  which  was  falsehood,  as  duty  which 
was  sin,  as  obligation  which  was  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, he  confuted,  resisted,  denounced,  forbade. 
A  law  of  man  which  should  forbid  him  to  profess 
faith  in  Christ  and  to  perform  his  spiritual  duties  in 
the  world,  he  would  disobey,  even  under  the  penalty 
of  death,  because  it  was  an  unlawful  intrusion  of 
the  power  of  a  human  government  into  the  sphere 
of  divine  things,  which  would  have  compelled  him 
to  sin,  and  to  omit  the  discharge  of  his  highest  obli- 
gations. While  it  was  no  part  of  his  mission  as  an 
Apostle  to  define  what  acts  of  human  governments 
were  lawful  within  their  sphere,  it  was  his  right  and 
duty  to  resist  and  disobey  such  laws  as  would  forbid 
him  to  discharge  his  duty  in  the  higher  sphere  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

Hence  those  customs,  and  those  established  insti- 
tutions, and  laws  of  human  society,  which  he  found 
in  existence,  however  evil  in  themselves  or  their  re- 
sults, he  did  not  directly  attack  and  denounce,  and 
preach  the  duty  of  destroying.  He  denounced  evil 
in  all  its  forms,  and  in  all  institutions,  whether  of  di- 
vine or  human  origin.  Even  those  which  were  the 
outgrowth  of  human  depravity,  or  the  perversion 
of  such  divinely  established  institutions  as  the 
Church  and  State,  he  did  not  declare  should  be  at 


162  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

once  destroyed.  He  inculcated  principles  which,  if 
practically  and  universally  established,  would  destroy 
every  evil  custom  and  institution  in  the  world.  He 
knew  that  it  would  be  useless  to  cut  off  the  evil  fruit 
and  leave  the  tree  evil,  because  its  next  growth 
would  be  the  same;  and  because  if  the  tree  were 
made  good,  the  fruit  through  all  time  would  be  also 
good.  There  were  all  around  St.  Paul  at  Rome  vast 
structures  of  iniquity, — evil  from  their  base  to  their 
summit, — and  yet,  what  did  he  do  ?  He  preached 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  taught  those  things  which 
concerned  the  Lord  Jesus.  There  was  at  Rome  the 
awful  despotism  of  Nero;  there  was  a  system  of 
concubinage;  there  were  cruel  gladiatorial  fights; 
there  were  the  horrible  slaughters  of  beasts  and  men 
in  the  amphitheaters ;  there  was  a  dreadful  system  of 
slavery;  and  yet  not  against  one  of  them  is  there  a 
denunciation  in  the  Epistles  which  he  wrote  from 
Rome.  But  no  doubt  the  presence  of  these  awful 
iniquities  added  fervor  to  his  earnest  exhortations  to 
the  love  of  God  and  man,  to  purity,  and  righteous- 
ness, and  mercy,  before  which  all  these  pollutions  and 
cruelties  would  flee  away! 

Let  us  examine  the  mode  in  which  St.  Paul  treated 
some  established  customs  and  institutions  while  he 
sojourned  at  Rome.  During  that  period  he  wrote 
the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  to  the  Ephesians,  the  Co- 
lossians,  the  Philippians ;  and  during  his  second  so- 
journ his  second  Epistle  to  Timothy.  To  these  Epis- 
tles I  shall  particularly  refer.  And  in  order  that  we 
may  have  a  complete  view  of  St.  Paul's  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding in  reference  to  them,  let  the  facts  be  borne 
in  mind  which  we  have  already  mentioned,  viz.,  that 
the  general  description  of  St.  Paul's  work  at  Rome 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  163 

was  that  he  preached  Christ  and  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  that,  in  the  midst  of  customs  and  institu- 
tions which  were  utterly  evil,  he  did  not  turn  aside 
from  his  great  work  to  denounce  them,  but  incul- 
cated principles  and  fostered  feelings  in  the  pres- 
ence and  ascendency  of  which  they  could  not  sur- 
vive. 

We  will  speak  first  of  those  institutions  which  were 
of  divine  origin  and  obligation. 

I.  The  Jewish  economy  was  of  divine  origin,  and 
had  been  of  divine  obligation.     Many  of  the  Jewish 
Christians,  as  we  have  seen,  still  contended  that  its 
rites  were  obligatory,     ^"ow  these  rites,  and  indeed 
the  whole  Jewish  economy,  St.  Paul  contended  had 
been   done  away  and  were  no   longer  obligatory. 
]S"ay,  he   contended  that  it  was  wrong  to  observe 
them  as  of  present  obligation.    In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians,  (ii.  16,  17,)  he  writes:    "Let   no   man 
therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  re- 
spect of  a  holy  day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the 
sabbath  days,  which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come, 
but  the  body  is  of  Christ."    To  condemn  this  insti- 
tution as  of  present  obligation,  was  a  duty  which  he 
owed  to  the  Gospel,  which  he  was  commissioned  to 
proclaim. 

II.  The  family  was  a  divine  institution  and  of  per- 
petual obligation.     It  was  founded  in  Eden;  it  was 
regulated  by  the  law;  it  was  enjoined  in  the  Gos- 
pel.    Its  one  divine  form  was  that  of  man  and  wife, 
and  their  offspring.     To  break  the  marriage  bonds 
was  one  of  the  greatest  of  crimes.     It  was  to  violate 
a  specific  law  of  God;  and  it  was  to  fill  society  with 
pollution,  violence/  and  manifold  evil. 

During  the  Republic,  and  even  in  the  age  of  Au- 


164  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

gustus,  the  utmost  purity  in  the  family  relation  pre- 
vailed among  Roman  citizens.  The  name  of  a  Ro- 
man maiden  was  synonymous  with  purity  and  mod- 
esty, and  that  of  a  Roman  matron  with  dignity  and 
honor.  The  violation  of  the  marriage  bond  between 
Romans  was  by  law,  and  in  fact,  visited  with  death 
or  exile.  The  guilty  daughter  and  granddaughter 
of  Augustus,  as  we  have  seen,  were  both  banished 
to  a  solitary  island, —  a  humiliation  to  the  proud 
Caesar  which  was  a  fit  punishment  of  his  own  cruel 
licentiousness.  But  this  stern  jealousy  of  the  purity 
of  the  Roman  family  had  far  more  reference  to  the 
interests  of  the  state  than  to  morality.  It  was  that 
the  Roman  stock  might  be  preserved  unmixed  and 
un weakened,  and  that  the  state  might  always  have 
fit  citizens  to  uphold  and  extend  the  glory  of  all- 
conquering  Rome.  Outside  of  the  Roman  families 
great  license  prevailed.  It  was  the  purity  of  the 
Roman  matron  and  maid,  and  not  that  of  the  Ro- 
man father  or  youth,  that  was  so  sternly  guarded. 
Philosophers  counted  licentiousness  within  the  limits 
of  the  law,  to  be  rather  unwise  than  wicked.  Cato 
did  not  condemn  it.  Cicero  apologized  for  it.  Epic- 
titus,  the  sternest  of  the  Roman  Stoics,  regarded  it 
as  weakness  and  folly,  but  not  as  crime  when  it  did 
not  violate  the  law.  So  that  even  in  the  best  times  of 
the  Republic,  when  the  purity  of  the  family  relation 
was  singularly  preserved,  it  was  on  the  grounds  of 
civil  polity  and  expediency,  and  not  on  those  high 
grounds  of  inherent  and  divine  and  moral  obliga- 
tion, on  which  alone  obedience  is  virtue. 

But  at  the  period  when  St.  Paul  was  in  Rome, 
society  had  become  exceedingly  corrupt.  We  have 
seen  how,  in  the  family  of  the  Csesars,  there  had 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  165 

been  a  frightful  succession  of  adulteries,  repudia- 
tions, divorces,  remarryings,  concubinages,  legal 
murders,  and  secret  poisonings,  in  the  interests  of 
monstrous  lusts.  The  same  spirit  and  practices 
were  exhibited  in  the  entire  patrician  circle.  How 
little  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  tie  in  itself,  and 
irrespective  of  the  law  of  the  state,  was  respected 
even  in  the  purer  period  of  a  hundred  years  before 
Nero,  appears  in  the  well-known  case  of  Cato.  No 
name  in  the  Roman  annals  stands  higher  for  lofty 
virtue,  on  the  Roman  model,  than  that  of  Cato. 
Yet  when  his  friend  Hortensius,  desirous  of  an  heir 
to  his  immense  fortune  and  high  fame,  divorced  his 
wife  and  was  in  search  of  another,  Cato  offered  to 
him  his  own,  with  whom  he  had  lived  happily  and  in 
honor,  and  the  offer  was  gratefully  accepted;  and 
after  the  death  of  Hortensius  and  the  birth  of  chil- 
dren to  him,  his  wife  was  remarried  to  Cato.  "The 
virtuous  Cato,"  said  Caesar,  " surrendered  his  wife 
when  she  was  young,  and  resumed  her  when  she 
was  rich."  If  such  things  could  occur  at  that  pe- 
riod, and  among  men  of  the  high  moral  standing  of 
Cato  and  Hortensius,  we  can  readily  suppose  that  in 
the  days  of  Claudius  and  of  Nero,  the  very  satur- 
nalia of  the  Roman  history,  corruptions  of  the  most 
frightful  kind  must  have  spread  through  the  whole 
structure  of  Roman  society.  The  system  of  patron- 
age and  clientage  which  prevailed  at  Rome,  inevi- 
tably forced  the  manners  and  habits  of  the  Caesars 
and  of  the  patricians  on  the  lower  and  dependent 
classes.  Hence,  as  was  to  be  anticipated,  it  is  found 
that  the  marriage  and  family  relations  were  in  a  state 
of  corruption,  contempt,  and  dislike,  which  were  the 
sources  of  enormous  crimes  and  evils.  In  vain  did 

21 


166  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

Augustus  endeavor  to  force  and  shame  his  subjects 
from  celibacy,  and  from  loose  and  licentious  di- 
vorces, into  permanent  marriages  and  the  family 
duties  which  they  involved.  The  patricians,  leading 
the  life  of  the  circus,  the  theaters,  and  the  baths, — 
studying,  reveling,  and  traveling, — having  free  play 
to  every  whim  and  passion, — could  be  induced  to 
marry  only  from  motives  of  ambition  or  of  interest. 
Meceenas,  the  favorite  minister  of  Augustus,  in  the 
face  of  his  master's  stern  decrees  against  divorce, 
repudiated  and  remarried  his  wife  not  less  than 
twenty  times.  From  the  palace  of  the  Caesars  to 
the  lowest  quarters  of  the  Aventine  and  the  Su- 
burra,  the  marriage  and  family  relation,  when  St. 
Paul  wrote,  was  in  a  frightfully  corrupt  condition. 
"The  old  Roman  paternal  despotism  could  not  sub- 
sist under  imperial  despotism;  the  old  laws  of  the 
family  were  too  stern  for  effeminate  Rome ;  too  na- 
tional for  Rome,  inundated  with  foreign  elements; 
too  patrician  for  Rome,  governed  by  freedmen ;  and 
too  little  in  harmony  with  the  debased  morality  and 
philosophy  of  the  age." 

Now  it  was  just  at  this  period,  when  this  family 
license  and  corruption  culminated,  that  St.  Paul 
lived  in  Rome.  How  did  he  deal  with  the  subject 
in  his  letters  to  the  churches,  written  when  all  this 
frightful  corruption  was  passing  under  his  eye? 
He  explained  the  divine  constitution  of  the  family ; 
the  headship  of  the  husband;  the  reciprocal  duty 
of  the  husband  to  love  and  honor,  and  of  the  wife 
to  love,  honor,  and  obey;  the  duties  of  both  to 
their  children,  and  of  their  children  to  them.  In 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  (v.  22-33,)  he  writes 
thus: 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  167 

""Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own  hus- 
bands, as  unto  the  Lord. 

"For  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  even  as 
Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church :  and  he  is  the  sa- 
viour of  the  body. 

"Therefore  as  the  church  is  subject  unto  Christ, 
so  let  the  wives  be  to  their  own  husbands  in  every- 
thing. 

"Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it ; 

"That  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  word, 

"  That  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish. 

"  So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own 
bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself. 

"For  no  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own  flesh;  but 
nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it,  even  as  the  Lord  the 
church : 

"For  we  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh, 
and  of  his  bones. 

"For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they 
two  shall  be  one  flesh. 

"This  is  a  great  mystery:  but  I  speak  concerning 
Christ  and  the  church. 

"Nevertheless  let  every  one  of  you  in  particular 
so  love  his  wife  even  as  himself;  and  the  wife  see 
that  she  reverence  her  husband." 

The  reciprocal  duties  of  parents  and  children  are 
thus  enjoined,  (Eph.  vi.  1-4:) 

"  Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord:  for  this 
is  right. 


168  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

"Honor  thy  father  and  mother;  which  is  the  first 
commandment  with  promise ; 

"  That  it  may  be  well  with  thee,  and  thou  mayest 
live  long  on  the  earth. 

"And,  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to 
wrath;  but  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admo- 
nition of  the  Lord." 

The  same  injunctions  are  repeated  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  (Col.  iii.  18-21.) 

Here  we  see  that  a  divine  and  holy  character  is 
attached  to  the  family  relation,  and  that  its  duties 
are  to  be  discharged  "as  to  the  Lord."  The  union 
of  man  and  wife  is  like  that  of  Christ  and  his  church, 
and  its  reciprocal  duties  and  affections  are  like  the 
holy  ones  which  spring  from  that  divine  relation. 
It  is  a  beautiful  and  pure  ideal  placed  in  the  midst 
of  the  awful  practical  corruptions  of  the  age,  whose 
realization  was  approached  in  the  actual  practice 
and  experience  of  Christians.  It  was  the  pure  family 
as  it  ought  to  be,  in  the  midst  of  the  polluted  family 
as  it  was. 

Now  that  to  which  I  wish  to  call  attention  is  the 
fact  that  St.  Paul's  mode  of  dealing  with  the  cor- 
ruption that  prevailed  in  this  divine  institution,  was 
to  describe  it  and  enjoin  it  as  it  was  divinely  consti- 
tuted, and  as  it  ought  to  be.  He  did  not  directly 
attack  the  prevailing  and  recognized  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  the  period,  which  were  awful  violations  of 
the  true  purposes  of  the  family,  dreadfully  corrupting 
to  the  individuals,  and  fearfully  destructive  of  the 
public  prosperity  and  peace.  He  attacked  them  only 
by  enjoining  as  sacred  and  indispensable  duties  all 
that  was  opposite  to  them  in  the  letter  and  the  spirit. 
Those  calm  and  solemn  instructions,  those  words  of 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  169 

passionless  and  weighty  wisdom,  intended  for  all 
ages  and  all  nations, — one  can  scarcely  conceive  of 
them  as  written  from  the  licentious  Rome  of  Nero  to 
the  scarcely  less  licentious  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  It 
may  have  been  that  as  his  hand,  benumbed  by  the 
long  and  weary  weight  of  his  chain,  was  slowly  and 
painfully  tracing  these  words,  he  could  see  the  gay 
thoroughfare  on  which  he  lived  thronged  with  the 
chariots  in  which  shameless  patrician  vice,  as  it  is 
painted  in  the  vivid  pages  of  honest  and  indignant 
Juvenal,  and  as  we  cannot  repeat  it,  flaunted  by ;  or 
a  louder  rumor  and  a  vast  clinking  train  of  eunuchs, 
players,  pantomimes,  and  praetorian  guards,  might 
announce  to  him  that  the  greatest  and  the  guiltiest 
pair,  the  most  powerful  and  shameless  corrupters  of 
all  family  ties  and  all  remains  of  chastity  and  honor 
then  upon  the  earth,  Nero  and  Poppea,  were  ap- 
proaching. Now  what  a  proof  it  is  of  the  large,  divine, 
calm,  world-embracing  wisdom  by  which  St.  Paul 
was  guided,  that  at  such  a  time  he  could  withhold 
his  holy  and  indignant  denunciations !  Not  all  holy 
men  could  have  refrained  from  denouncing  directly 
and  personally  upon  Nero  as  Imperator,  and  of 
charging  upon  established  customs,  and  immunities, 
and  laws  of  Rome,  the  frightful  corruption  that  then 
prevailed. 

But  St.  Paul  knew  that  the  source  of  all  these 
evils  was  deeper — even  in  the  depraved  and  fallen 
heart  of  man.  He  knew  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
cometh  not  with  observation.  Its  first  work  is  in 
the  soul.  It  penetrates,  pervades,  transforms  insti- 
tutions, by  first  penetrating,  pervading,  transforming 
the  souls  of  those  by  whom  they  are  fashioned  and 
sustained.  It  changes  the  one  as  it  does  the  other. 


170  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

That  which  in  the  heart  and  life  superinduced  is  evil, 
falls  ;  that  which  is  good  in  the  design  of  G  od,  stands 
transformed.  That  which  is  evil  in  itself  in  society,  if 
society  becomes  holy,  and  in  proportion  as  it  becomes 
holy,  disappears;  that  which  is  good,  in  the  lower 
sense  of  prudential  or  mere  moral  goodness,  re- 
mains, and  becomes  penetrated  with  a  higher  and 
holier  goodness.  Ambition,  hatred,  cruelty,  and 
lust  disappear  from  holy  hearts,  in  the  same  measure 
as  they  are  holy;  nature's  love  for  wife  and  child, 
and  for  blameless  human  and  sensitive  enjoyment, 
remains,  converted,  purified,  exalted  into  holy  affec- 
tions, and  into  joys  which  are  at  the  same  time  du- 
ties. Precisely  such  is  the  transformation  of  society. 
That  which  is  evil  in  itself — such  as  the  amphithea- 
ter with  its  inhuman  slaughter,  wars  of  aggression 
and  ambition,  licensed  and  protected  licentiousness, 
the  outgrowth  of  ambition,  cruelty,  and  lust — will 
disappear  among  nations  in  proportion  as  they  are 
holy.  The  family  and  the  state,  which  are  good  in 
themselves  and  divine  in  their  organization,  but 
which  have  been  degraded  into  instruments  of  hu- 
man iniquity,  will  remain  transformed  and  purified. 
Such  is  the  process  and  the  work  of  holiness  in 
individuals,  and  in  the  customs,  laws,  and  institu- 
tions of  the  world.  The  institutions  which  are 
wholly  evil  do  not  fall  by  being  battered,  but  by  be- 
ing undermined.  They  are  not  suddenly  over- 
thrown like  the  temple  of  Dagon  by  Samson,  but 
they  gradually  rnelt  away  like  the  ice  palace  of  the 
northern  Czar.  Such  institutions  as  are  conformed 
to  man's  true  needs,  or  are  of  divine  origin,  are 
filled  at  length  with  purity,  under  the  influence  of 
Christian  light  and  life,  not  as  at  midnight  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  171 

world  is  filled  with  sudden  and  temporary  light  hy 
lightning  flashes,  but  as  the  day  fills  it,  at  first  with 
the  pearly  radiance  of  the  rising,  and  then  with  the 
full  effulgence  of  the  risen  sun.  Hence  St.  Paul 
could  see  the  imperial  cortege  and  the  gay  patrician 
crowds  flash  by  in  guilty  revelry,  and  feel  with  pro- 
found sadness  the  awful  desecration  of  the  family 
institution,  and  could  yet  indite  those  calm  and  holy 
teachings  to  the  Ephesians,  in  which  there  are  no 
allusions  to  the  scenes  that  were  passing  all  around 
him.  He  wTrote  with  loving  tranquillity,  for  he  wrote 
for  all  time  and  all  the  world,  under  the  influence  of 
that  Holy  Spirit  whose  emblem  is  the  dove.  "Wis- 
dom reacheth  from  one  end  unto  the  other  mightily, 
and  sweetly  doth  she  order  all  things."  Divine  wisdom 
embraces  the  whole  course  of  time  in  her  vigorous 
_  administration,  and  gentle  and  gradual  as  nature's 
growths  and  processes,  are  her  moral  and  spiritual 
transformations.  The  form  and  structure  of  the 
vine  is  not  changed  when  the  sap  recedes  in  winter 
and  creeps  upward  in  the  spring;  but  the  result  of 
the  one  is  a  gradual  transformation  of  the  leafy  and 
purple  vineyard  into  bare  and  straggling  sticks,  and 
of  the  other  into  graceful  and  festooned  foliage, 
which  makes  the  hill-side  laugh,  and  into  precious 
and  clustered  fruit  which  makes  glad  the  heart  of 
man. 

III.  As  is  the  family  so  also  is  the  state  a  divine 
institution.  It  is  so  described  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Obedience  to  it  is  enjoined 
in  the  Lord,  and  as  unto  the  Lord.  It  was  when 
Nero  was  Emperor  of  Rome  that  St.  Paul  wrote  to 
the  Romans  the  most  full  and  complete  assertion  and 
explanation  of  the  divine  constitution  of  the  state, 


172  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

of  the  sacred  character  of  tlie  magistracy,  and  of 
the  respective  duties  of  the  rulers  and  the  ruled, 
that  inspiration  has  produced.  It  certainly  proves 
the  universal  applicability  of  these  words  to  find 
that  they  were  addressed  to  the  horribly  misgov- 
erned citizens  of  Rome  just  at  the  period  when  a 
Claudius  had  ceased,  and  a  Nero  had  *begun  to 
reign. 

"  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers. 
For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God :  the  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God. 

"Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power,  re- 
sisteth the  ordinance  of  God :  and  they  that  resist 
shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation. 

"For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to 
the  evil.  Wilt  thou  then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power? 
do  that  which  is  good,  and  thou  shalt  have  praise  of 
the  same: 

"For  he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good. 
But  if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid;  for  he 
beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain :  for  he  is  the  minister 
of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that 
doeth  evil. 

"Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for 
wrath,  but  also  for  conscience  sake. 

"  For  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also :  for  they  are 
God's  ministers,  attending  continually  upon  this  very 
thing. 

"Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues:  tribute  to 
whom  tribute  is  due;  custom  to  whom  custom ;  fear 
to  whom  fear;  honor  to  whom  honor." 

Here  is  a  description  of  the  state,  as  before  of  the 
family,  as  it  is  divinely  constituted,  and  as  it  should 
be  administered.  Without  any  theories,  or  any  ex- 


UBfty 

(  T   THE 
ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

planations,  as  to  how  governments 
tuted, — whether  as  republican,  oligarchical, 
archical,  or  mixed, — he  makes  the  broad  and  distinct 
announcement  that  the  powers  that  be — established 
governments — are  the  ordinance  of  God.  As  such  they 
are  to  be  obeyed.  Resistance  to  them  is  resistance 
to  the  ordinance  of  God.  They  are  designed  to  ad- 
minister justice,  to  be  a  terror  to  the  evil,  and  to  re- 
ward and  protect  the  good.  Hence  also  they  must 
be  obeyed,  not  from  fear  only,  but  from  conscience. 
Hence  also  they  must  be  sustained  by  the  payment 
of  dues  and  tributes.  They  must  also  be  honored 
as  well  as  obeyed,  because  established  by  God,  and 
administering  human  justice  by  his  authority. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  while  organized  society, 
with  laws,  protection,  punishment,  and  rewards,  is 
declared  to  be  an  ordinance  of  God,  there  is  no  pre- 
scription as  to  the  forms  which  governments  should 
assume,  and  no  expression  of  preference  for  one 
rather  than  another.  The  precise  form  of  the  family 
— man  and  wife  and  their  offspring— is  designated, 
but  not  that  of  the  state. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  moreover,  that  while  obe- 
dience in  general  to  parents  and  the  state  is  en- 
joined, the  limitations  to  that  obedience  are  nowhere 
prescribed.  In  the  case  of  the  family,  love,  protec- 
tion, nurture  on  the  part  of  parents,  and  obedience 
on  the  part  of  children,  are  enjoined;  but  the  contin- 
gencies in  which  they  may  or  ought  to  be  limited, 
suspended,  or  withheld,  are  not  specified.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  if  parents  enjoin  crime  upon  their  children, 
it  is  their  duty  nof  to  obey,  but  to  disobey.  In  like 
manner  while  the  duty  of  magistrates  is  enjoined, 
the  circumstances  in  which  it  becomes  lawful  or  ob- 

22 


174  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

ligatory  not  to  obey  or  to  disobey,  are  not  specified. 
It  is  certain  that  such  circumstances  may  arise.  The 
settlement  of  such  cases  is  left  to  the  individual  con- 
science. By  such  means  it  is  that  conscience  be- 
comes purified  and  quickened. 

Thus  it  was  that  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Romans 
during  the  early  period  of  Zero's  reign  at  Rome. 
When  he  resided  at  Rome  the  second  time,  the  pub- 
lic administration  of  Nero  had  become  as  atrocious 
as  his  private  life.  And  yet  in  the  letter  to  Timothy, 
which  he  wrote  from  Rome,  there  is  no  change  and 
no  modification  of  his  teachings  in  respect  to  gov- 
ernments and  rulers,  and  obedience  to  them.  He 
did  not  then  write  anything  to  this  effect:  "When 
I  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  enjoining  obedi- 
ence to  the  government  as  of  divine  institution, 
that  government  was  then  justly  administered,  un- 
der the  direction  of  Seneca  and  Burrus.  Now  it 
has  become  an  instrument  of  capricious  cruelty  and 
oppression.  It  has  violated  all  the  purposes  for 
which  a  government  is  established;  and  therefore  it 
has  ceased  to  be  worthy  of  obedience  or  honor;  it 
would  be  lawful  and  right  to  overthrow  it."  He 
wrote  no  such  words.  He  let  his  first  teachings 
stand.  As  the  inspired  teacher  of  the  Church  for 
all  ages,  it  was  his  office  to  declare  the  principles 
upon  which  governments  should  be  on  the  one 
hand  administered,  and  on  the  other  obeyed. 
"While  such  governments  existed  their  laws  were  to 
be  obeyed,  unless  they  were  such  as  compelled  indi- 
viduals to  violate  the  laws  of  God.  When  it  would 
become  lawful,  or  expedient,  or  obligatory,  for  sub- 
jects to  combine  to  overthrow  such  a  detestable 
tyranny,  he  did  not  declare.  He  left  such  questions 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  175 

for  the  decision  of  Christian  citizens  on  the  princi- 
ples which  he  had  enjoined. 

It  is  certainly  all  the  more  striking  proof  of  the) 
fact  that  it  is  not  the  mission  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
church  to  assault  and  overthrow  existing  institutions, 
however  evil  in  themselves  or  in  their  administra- 
tion, but  rather  that  it  is  their  divine  function  to 
proclaim  principles  which  shall,  if  really  adopted, 
gradually  undermine  or  transform  them,  to  find  that 
St.  Paul  wrote  this  remarkable  description  of  the 
relative  duties  of  governors  and  citizens  at  a  period 
when  the  world  was  most  tyranically,  cruelly,  and/ 
unjustly  governed.  It  is  true  that  when  St.  Paul 
wrote  to  the  Romans,  the  government  of  Nero  was 
mild  and  just.  But  St.  Paul  had  known  well  the 
dreadful  character  of  the  two  preceding  reigns  of 
Caligula  and  Claudius.  He  knew  human  nature 
well  enough  to  be  assured  that  such  vast  irresponsi- 
ble power  in  the  hands  of  one  man  was  fearfully 
liable  to  abuses.  All  these  abuses  of  power  were 
known,  and  perhaps  exaggerated,  in  the  provinces. 
News  from  Rome,  sent  by  officials,  or  carried  by 
private  hand,  was  posted  in  the  Basilica,  or  in  the 
Forum  of  all  the  cities  of  the  Empire.  The  bulle- 
tin would  announce  that  Nero  had  jwst  escaped  as- 
sassination by  his  mother,  and  offerings  of  gratitude 
for  his  safety  would  be  offered  in  all  the  temples; 
but  private  letters  and  the  gossip  of  travelers  would 
spread  abroad  the  fact  that  Agrippina  was  murdered 
at  the  suggestion  of  Poppea.  Thus  St.  Paul  in  the 
provinces  would  not  remain  ignorant  of  the  atrocities 
of  the  capital.  He  had  known  the  cruel  treatment 
of  his  countrymen  by  Caligula.  He  had  known  all 
the  wild  and  capricious  excesses  of  the  two  crowned 


176  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

furies,  Messalina  and  Agrippina,  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius.  And  yet  it  was  in  the  full  knowledge  of 
all  this  misuse  and  perversion  of  power,  that  he 
wrote  that  calm  and  complete  delineation  of  the  re- 
lation of  the  rulers  and  the  ruled,  whose  first  words 
are  "Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers." 

The  two  points  which  seem  singular  to  us  in  this 
doctrine  of  St.  Paul  are  that  the  powers  that  be,  how- 
ever unjust  in  their  origin  and  cruel  in  their  admin- 
istration, should  be  said  to  be  ordained  of  God,  and 
that  the  duty  of  obedience  to  them,  without  restric- 
tion or  qualification,  "as  unto  the  Lord,"  should  be 
enjoined.  Yet  there  they  stand  in  St.  Paul's  Epis- 
tles, too  distinctly  to  be  misunderstood.  They  have 
been  used  to  sanctify  cruel  despotism,  and  to  make 
resistance  to  them  a  crime  against  God.  How  are 
these  teachings  to  be  reconciled  with  the  attributes 
of  Him  whose  name  is  love  and  whose  government 
is  righteous,  and  who  demands  loyalty  and  obedi- 
ence only  to  that  which  is  just  and  good? 

1.  When  St.  Paul  says  that  the  powers  which  be 
are  ordained  of  God,  I  understand  him  to  mean  that 
it  is  the  will  of  God  that  man  should  live  in  organ- 
ized society  under  governors  and  laws.  He  does 
not  specify,  as  in  the  case  of  the  family,  any  one 
form  which  states  shall  assume.  The  form  of  such 
governments  is  an  ordinance  of  man.  The  existence 
of  government  in  some  form  is  an  ordinance  of  God. 
Hence  St.  Paul  was  able  to  say,  even  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Caesars,  that  it  was  of  God.  Does  one 
who  thinks  of  the  government  of  Nero  exclaim, 
"Can  it  be  that  this  awful  domination  is  of  God?" 
"We  do  not  wonder  at  the  question.  Yet  when  one 
looks  in  upon  the  family  where  the  husband  is  a 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  177 

brute,  and  the  wife  a  fiend,  and  the  children  the 
victims  of  their  blended  vices ;  or  when  one  or  all 
convert  the  family  relations  into  a  dreadful  scene  of 
cruelty,  suffering,  and  pollution  from  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  escape,  and  which  it  is  a  life-long  agony 
to  endure,  he  might  ask  the  same  question,  "  Can 
this  be  of  God?"  Not  this  certainly  in  the  intention 
of  God,  in  either  case.  In  the  one  case  justice  and 
mercy  on  the  part  of  the  ruler,  and  reverence  and 
obedience  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  in  the  other 
case  mutual  affection  and  regard  on  the  part  of  hus- 
band and  wife,  and  loving  obedience  on  the  part  of 
children, — this  is  the  ordinance  of  God.  It  is  none 
the  less  a  right  ordinance  of  God  because  man  per- 
verts it.  With  all  its  horror,  the  government  of 
Nero  is  better  than  anarchy ;  and  with  all  its  woes, 
the  family  in  its  worst  form  is  better  than  the  law- 
less reign  of  lust  and  passion,  which  would  soon 
convert  what  God  created  a  paradise  into  a  pande- 
monium. 

2.  If  these  institutions  of  the  family  and  the  state 
be  of  God,  then  obedience  to  them,  uas  to  the  Lord," 
logically  ensues.  That  no  restrictions  to  this  duty 
are  stated,  should  create  no  surprise.  On  the  one 
hand,  justice,  mercy,  and  affection  are  enjoined  on 
governments  and  parents,  and  011  the  other,  rever- 
ence and  obedience  on  the  part  of  citizens  and 
children.  They  are  to  go  together.  When  we  are 
bidden  to  obey  lawful  authorities,  and  when  there 
is  no  specification  of  what  we  are  to  do  when  they 
cease  to  exercise  lawful  authority  lawfully,  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the  obedi- 
ence which  we  should  render.  We  know  one  limit 
which  is  clearly  and  broadly  marked.  If  either  of 


178  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

them  bid  us  to  commit  a  crime,  we  know  that  it  is 
our  duty  to  disobey.  Other  duties  to  self,  to  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  to  communities,  may  be  paramount 
to  the  duties  of  parents  or  of  governments  when 
they  transcend  their  powers.  It  is  the  province  of 
the  lawmaker  to  put  forth  precise  and  dogmatic 
laws  concerning  certain  relations.  It  rests  writh 
those  to  whom  they  are  addressed  to  determine 
when  disobedience  becomes  duty. 

Thus  we  see  how  they  err  who  make  man's  path 
of  duty  to  be  always  a  straight  and  level  way.  It 
is,  on  the  contrary,  often  rugged  and  winding,  and 
not  well  defined,  and  to  be  discerned  only  by  alert 
and  earnest  faculties.  He  climbs,  he  plunges,  he 
wades,  he  dives,  he  deviates,  he  turns  impossible 
precipices  and  leaps  yawning  gulfs,  and  when  he 
shall  reach  the  end  of  the  journey,  palpitating  and 
weary,  he  will  be  developed  in  strength  and  ca- 
pacity, and  relish  his  success  all  the  more  because 
it  was  difficult  to  gain. 


LECTUEE  VIII. 

ST.  PAUL'S  POSITION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  ESTABLISHED 
CUSTOMS  AND  INSTITUTIONS. 


have  shown  in  our  last  how  St.  Paul  dealt 
with  existing  institutions.  He  did  not  attack  them 
directly,  however  evil  they  might  be  ;  but  he  incul- 
cated principles,  the  adoption  of  which  would  de- 
stroy evil  by  introducing  good.  In  the  case  of  di- 
vine institutions  which  were  perverted  from  their 
original  purpose,  he  inculcated  the  duties  and  affec- 
tions which  were  appropriate  to  them.  He  unfolded 
the  duties  of  the  marriage  and  family  relation.  He 
explained  the  mutual  duties  of  rulers  and  subjects. 
He  described  the  "powers  that  be"  —  existing  govern- 
ments —  as  ordained  of  God  ;  and  with  Nero  upon  the 
throne,  proclaimed  disobedience  to  government  to 
be  disloyalty  to  Heaven. 

We  shall  not  be  able  fully  to  feel  all  the  signifi- 
cance of  this  fact,  unless  we  recall  some  of  the  inci- 
dents of  those  reigns,  which  will  show  us  what  sort 
of  a  government  existed  in  Rome  just  previous  to 
the  period  when  St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epistle. 

Every  one  has  heard  of  what  may  be  called  the 
more  personal  extravagances  of  the  reign  of  Cali- 
gula. His  incestuous  passion  for  his  sisters;  his 
claim  to  be  a  god,  and  to  hold  private  conferences 
with  the  moon,  and  with  Jupiter;  the  elevation  of 

(179) 


180  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

his  favorite  horse  to  the  Consulate,  and  his  wish 
that  the  Romans  had  but  one  neck,  that  he  might 
destroy  them  all  at  a  blow, — those  imperial  insani- 
ties are  well  known.  "We  have  alluded  to  his  bridge 
at  Bali,  which  drew  to  that  point  all  the  vessels  of 
the  empire,  and  called  for  thousands  more, — an  ex- 
travagance which  strained  the  resources  of  the  em- 
pire to  the  utmost  for  a  mere  imperial  whim.  We 
have  spoken  of  the  drunken  frenzy  in  which,  on  the 
occasion  of  its  inauguration,  he  consigned  helpless 
and  unoffending  victims  by  the  boat-load  to  the  sea. 
We  have  described  also  his  impious  cruelty  to  the 
Jews.  Even  these  wild  violations  of  all  the  purposes 
for  which  a  government  is  instituted,  were  outdone 
by  the  means  which  he  adopted  to  replenish  his  ex- 
hausted treasury. 

/  Seneca  informs  us 'that  at  one  repast  he  expended 
ten  millions  of  sesterces;  and  in  a  year  two  thou- 
sand and  seven  hundred  millions  of  sesterces.  These 
extravagances  called  for  extraordinary  means.  Ac- 
cordingly confiscations  were  multiplied.  Caligula 
professed  to  find  in  the  records  of  Tiberius  proofs 
of  the  treason  of  those  rich  persons  whose  posses- 
sions he  coveted ;  and  they  were  cut  off.  He  adopted 
a  means,  which  subsequent  tyrants  largely  practiced, 
of  replenishing  his  treasury  by  getting  himself  ap- 
pointed heir  of  the  estates  of  his  subjects.  "If  you 
wish  a  favor  of  Caesar — make  him  your  heir!  If 
'  you  wish  to  escape  a  charge  of  treason — make  him 
'  your  heir !  If  you  wish  to  rescue  a  relative  from  the 
wiles  of  informers — make  him  your  heir!"  Such 
were  the  messages  which  his  creatures  gave  to  the 
trembling  citizens.  Even  then,  if  the  old  man  who 
had  enrolled  him  as  heir  to  the  detriment  of  all  his 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  181 

own  relations,  lingered  too  long  in  life,  a  delicate  ra- 
gout was  sent  to  him  from  the  Emperor's  table  with 
his  compliments,  and  with  poison  in  it;  and  he  died  / 
it  was  said  of  apoplexy,  and  the  grateful  Caesar  com-  ' 
memorated  his  virtues.     If  it  was  announced  that 
one  who  was  a  stranger  to  him  had  left  to  him  all 
his  property,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  his  own  relatives, 
he  declared  that  the  sanctity  of  wills  must  be  pre- 
served ;  and  took  the  money !     If  another  who  had 
received  any  benefit,  by  offices  or  contracts  from  the   ! 
state,  had  forgotten  him  in  his  will,  it  was  declared 
to  be  an  infamous  insult  to  the  imperial  majesty  and 
beneficence;  and  he  broke  the  will  and  took  the 
money.     If  another  died,  and  a  friend  of  Caesar  in- 
formed him  that  the  deceased  told  him  that  he  in- 
tended to  have  made  him  heir — though  his  name  was    / 
not  mentioned  in  the  will — the  intention  was  held 
to  be  sacred,  and  Caesar  broke  the  will  and  received 
the  money.    Thus  a  vast  source  of  supply  was  opened 
by  a  means  which  was  at  the  same  time  absolutely    f 
unjust,  and  so  cunningly  cruel   that  it  must  have 
kept  every  wealthy  citizen  in  a  terror  of  anxiety, 
and  all  his  relatives  in  a  state  of  doubt  and  fear. 

On  the  birth  of  a  daughter  the  poor  Caesar  affects  ) 
to  fear  absolute  ruin  and  destitution.  How  to  pro- 
vide for  her  support?  He  asks  alms  of  his  people. 
He  seats  himself  in  the  vestibule  of  his  palace  on 
his  throne,  to  receive  their  gifts.  Consuls,  the  sen- 
ate, patricians,  goldsmiths,  and  merchants  crowd, 
with  hands  and  togas  full  of  coins,  and  of  precious 
gifts,  and  lay  them  at  the  feet  of  Caesar.  It  is  much, 
but  it  is  not  enough.  The  imperial  beggar  resorts 
to  another  device  which  sinks  the  Caesar  as  low  as 
the  vilest  imagination  could  place  the  most  infamous 

23 


182  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

creature  of  his  household.  As  one  now  passes 
through  the  colossal  substructions  of  his  palace,  re- 
cently uncovered,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Emperor 
of  the  French,  the  series  of  apartments  is  pointed  out 
which,  according  to  the  statement  of  a  Roman  his- 
torian, Caligula  rented  out  as  the  place  of  debauch- 
ery, whose  patrons  were  commended  by  him  for  thus 
aiding  their  impoverished  lord,  burdened  with  the 
expense  of  an  imperial  baby. 

But  the  supply  is  temporary  and  insufficient.    He 
professes  to  find  records  which  prove  that  his  de- 
ceased sisters  had  been  plotting  against  his  life. 
Their  effects  are  sold.      Caligula  attends  the  sale, 
•  and  cries  up  the  articles,  and  exhorts  the  purchasers 
^  to  bid  generously  for  the  possession  of  goods  which 
once  belonged  to  the  imperial  family;  and  for  the 
pressing  needs  of  their  poor  bankrupt  master.    "Are 
^  you  not  ashamed,  you  misers!   to  be  richer  than 
,  I?     See  to  what  straits  I  am  reduced! — compelled 
to  sell  the  furniture  belonging  once  to  Augustus. 
^  Behold  this   choice  utensil !      Mark  Antony  once 
used  this!- — and  Augustus  this!      For  the  love  of 
history  and  of  Roman  glory,  purchase  this  for  the 
trifle  at  which  it  is  offered,— only  200,000  sesterces ! 
Crier!  why  do  you  not  observe  that  Aponius  nods 
his  head  in  sign  that  he  takes  the  thirteen  gladiators 
at  my  price, — only  nine  millions  of  sesterces !"   And 
Aponius,  a  corpulent  man  of  consular  dignity,  who 
was   asleep   and   nodding,  awakes  to  find  himself 
ruined,  with  thirteen  voracious  gladiators  on   his 
hands.      And  to  all  this  ludicrous  degradation  of 
(  themselves  and  of  their  prince,  the  once  haughty 
Romans,  whose  pride  was  always  associated  with 
V  dignity,  tamely  and  unresistingly  submitted. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  183 

For  a  time  Caligula  was  again  rich.  His  gold  was 
strewn  upon  the  floor  of  one  of  the  rooms  of  his 
palace,  and  he  handled  it  with  greedy  glee,  and  took 
oft'  his  sandals  and  walked  over  it,  and  even  slept 
upon  it.  But  golden  bigas  set  with  precious  stones, 
and  golden  oats  for  his  favorite  horse,  and  his  vast 
new  palaces,  and  his  bridge  over  the  Forum,  from 
the  Palatine  to  the  Capitoline  hill,  soon  exhausted 
his  means,  and  led  him  to  resume  his  business  of 
auctioneering  on  a  still  grander  scale.  The  supply 
of  his  exhausted  treasury  was  secured  in  the  rich 
provinces  of  Gaul. 

On  his  way  to  commence  his  ridiculous  invasion  of 
Great  Britain,  which  he  undertook  only  for  the  pur- 
poses of  obtaining  more  money,  he  paused  in  Gaul  and 
hastened  to  despoil  its  citizens.  The  people  were  sub- 
jected to  new  and  onerous  taxes.  A  conspiracy,  real 
or  pretended,  at  Rome,  enabled  him  to  destroy  and 
to  seize  the  possessions  of  some  of  its  richest  citi- 
zens. While  in  Gaul  he  sent,  in  hot  haste,  for  what 
would  be  called,  in  modern  phrase,  the  regalia,  or 
jewels,  and  for  many  of  the  triumphal  chariots  and 
equipages  of  state,  which  he  sold  at  .auction.  Every 
appliance  of  terror,  and  every  species  of  trickery  was 
resorted  to,  in  order  that  an  exorbitant  price  might 
be  secured.  He  personally  set  forth  the  peculiar 
value  of  each  article  as  it  was  offered.  "  This,"  he 
said,  "belonged  to  my  father,  and  this  to  my  grand- 
father. This  vase  is  Egyptian,  and  was  used  by  An- 
tony ;  and  this  is  a  trophy  of  the  victory  of  Ac- 
tium  !"  By  this  means  he  again  accumulated  enor- 
mous sums. 

And  this  poor  creature  was  the  master  of  the 
world !  This  is  the  great  Csesar  who  insisted  upon 


184  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

being  worshiped  as  a  god  in  the  Temple  at  Jeru- 
salem, at  the  same  time  that  he  officiated  in  Gaul  as 
an  auctioneer  of  the  property  of  murdered  citizens, 
and  of  the  state.  And  it  was  in  the  full  knowledge 
that  the  government  of  the  Roman  Empire  had  been 
committed  to  such  hands,  and  was  in  hands  as  vile 
when  he  wrote,  that  St.  Paul  penned  the  remarkable 
declaration,  "The  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of 
God." 

In  the  reign  of  Claudius,  the  abuses  of  the  gov- 
ernment were  scarcely  less.  He  was  not  personally 
cruel,  but  he  was  a  dull,  inactive,  learned  gorman- 
dizer, and  the  administration  of  aifairs  fell  into  the 
hands  of  his  freedmen  and  his  wives.  Pallas,  who, 
once  a  slave,  became  the  master  of  the  master  of 
the  world,  possessed  in  a  few  years  a  fortune  of  a 
hundred  millions  of  francs,  and  saw  all  patrician 
Rome  groveling  at  his  feet.  Narcissus,  another 
freedman,  his  rival,  was  scarcely  less  powerful. 
These  creatures,  in  league  with  Messalina,  or  mixed 
in  tangled  intrigues  with  each  other,  made  the 
reign  of  Claudius,  if  less  disastrous  to  the  pub- 
lic, quite  as  atrocious  in  the  palace  as  that  of  Cali- 
gula, Let  me  here  adopt  the  words  of  one  of  the 
historians  of  the  Empire. 

"I  here  close  my  account  of  Claudius.  Is  it  not 
strange  that  the  Empire  should  have  been  subject 
in  succession  to  Caligula,  who  mocked  everything, 
and  to  Claudius,  whom  everybody  mocked?  Is  it 
not  horrible  to  think  that  this  imperial  power  over 
life  should  have  been  seized  and  squabbled  for  by 
women,  eunuchs,  and  valets,  each  drawing  from 
the  imbecile  Emperor  what  he  desired,  —  one  a 
pardon,  one  an  exile,  one  gold,  and  another  a  pun- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  185 

ishment?  Murders  were  sold  like  the  other  pre- 
rogatives of  power.  These  creatures  passed  over 
to  each  other  the  sword  of  the  centurion  or  the 
poison  of  Locusta.  Such  were  the  exchanges  of 
men  who  were  to  be  murdered ;  the  bargaining  and 
bartering  of  lives.  Under  this  reign,  legal  execu- 
tions and  murders  were  confounded.  It  was  indif- 
ferently the  assassin  or  the  informer,  as  the  case  re- 
quired, that  was  employed.  Men  were  publicly 
invited  to  destroy  themselves,  or  were  poisoned  by 
some  exquisite  dish  sent  from  the  table  of  the 
prince.  If  it  were  the  Emperor  and  Messalina  that 
wished  to  dispose  of  an  enemy,  or  to  fulfill  a  con- 
tract of  murder,  they  carelessly  turned  to  the  cen- 
turion on  guard  and  said  to  him,  'Go  and  destroy 
this  man.'  If  it  were  a  more  timid  freedman,  he 
sent  for  Locusta,  who  proved  her  loyalty  by  first 
showing  the  power  of  her  poison  on  a  slave.  I  do 
not  now  speak  of  manners.  If  I  should  say  half 
that  history  records  upon  this  topic  I  should  seem 
to  say  too  much.  But  the  fearful  licentiousness  of 
manners  is  forgotten  in  this  license,  this  openness  of 
murder.  Think  what  must  have  been,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  such  crimes  among  the  powerful,  the  mo- 
rality of  the  people,  and  how  readily  they  would, 
when  they  could,  imitate  the  vengeance  of  their 
masters.  Assassination  committed  in  the  name  of  , 
authority  is  a  public  invitation  to  every  species  ofV 
crime." 

These  were  the  governments  which  immediately 
preceded  that  during  which  St.  Paul  wrote  his  Epis- 
tle. When  he  wrote  his  second  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
Nero  was  in  his  high  career  of  murder,  dissipa- 
tion, and  boundless  extravagance.  Rome  had  been 


186  ST.  PAUL    IX   ROME. 

burned,  the  Christians  martyred,  the  journey  of 
Nero  as  imperial  singer  and  fiddler  to  Greece  had 
been  completed,  and  he  had  returned  with  his  eight- 
een hundred  laurel  crowns  all  reeking  with  blood ; 
proscriptions  and  murders  were  multiplied;  and  St. 
Paul,  in  the  midst  of  the  mad  and  cruel  misgovern- 
ment,  knew  that  the  hour  of  his  own  martyrdom 
approached,  and  wrote,  "I  am  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand." 

Now  it  must  be  admitted  that  if  it  were  ever  the 
function  of  the  Gospel  and  the  church  to  assail  in- 
stitutions and  customs  instead  of  vices  of  the  heart 
and  life,  the  occasion  was  presented  to  St.  Paul. 
But  his  mission  was  not  directly  to  attack  the  evil 
works  of  unregenerate  men,  but  to  bring  men  to 
the  cross  and  to  the  washing  of  regeneration,  that 
the  fountain  of  evil  works  might  be  dried  up.  That 
he  should  have  written  and  left  on  record  only  prin- 
ciples on  which  governments  should  be  administered 
at  a  period  when  the  world  was  more  than  ever  mis- 
governed, and  just  at  the  moment  when  he  himself 
was  about  to  fall  a  victim  to  its  cruelty  and  injustice, 
is  the  most  striking  evidence  that  could  be  furnished 
that  the  Gospel  and  church  and  ministry  were  in- 
tended, in  their  direct  use  and  application,  as  the 
agency  for  building  up  that  Kingdom  of  God  which 
is  not  of  this  world.  Hence  in  the  Epistle  to  Timo- 
thy, so  touching,  when  we  recall  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  written,  there  is  no  escape  from 
him  of  the  personal  feeling  of  righteous  indignation 
with  which  we  may  well  suppose  him  to  have  been 
filled;  there  is  no  denunciation  of  the  perversion  of 
the  heaven-delegated  powers  of  government,  by 
which  it  had  become  a  terror,  not  to  the  evil,  but  to 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  187 

the  good;  there  is  no  calling  down  of  tire  from 
Heaven  on  the  guilty  rulers  who  had  turned  God's 
benificent  institution  for  the  protection  of  man  into 
an  instrument  of  cruelty  and  oppression.  St.  Paul 
writes  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  of  all  ages.  He 
occupies  himself  in  giving  many  and  minute  direc- 
tions and  exhortations  to  his  son  Timothy  for  the 
right  ordering  and  establishment  of  the  Church  of 
God.  Then,  looking  forward  to  his  reward,  lie  ex- 
claimed: "I  have  fought  the  good  tight;  I  have  fin- 
ished my  course ;  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  which  God,  the 
righteous  judge,  will  give  me  at  that  day." 

And  yet  let  not  these  statements  of  St.  Paul's 
position  be  misunderstood.  The  church  and  the 
Gospel  are  not  indeed  agencies  to  be  employed  di- 
rectly against  evil  institutions,  or  perversions  of 
good  institutions,  but  against  the  sins,  and  for  the 
sanctification,  of  the  human  heart.  Yet  when  in 
them  and  by  them  hearts  are  made  new,  and  men 
made  holy  learn  to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy, 
then  in  all  their  relations  they  should  strive  to  bring 
all  institutions  into  conformity  to  righteousness  and 
love.  As  citizens  they  should  strive  to  bring  down 
every  citadel  of  wrong,  every  habitation  of  cruelty, 
by  the  use  of  such  means  as  justice  and  righteous- 
ness approve.  The  statement  that  because  a  man  is 
a  Christian  he  should  shut  up  all  his  sympathies  and 
activities  within  the  church,  and  allow  wicked  men 
all  around  him  to  build  up  their  structures  of  in- 
iquity and  oppression  without  an  effort  to  overthrow 
them,  and  with  a  saintly  indifference  to  the  suffer- 
ings and  wrongs  which  they  may  intiict,  is  an  insult 
to  his  Christian  manhood.  Because  he  is  a  Christian 


188  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

he  is  bound  as  a  man  and  citizen,  always  indeed  in 
the  spirit  of  righteousness  and  truth,  to  resist  wrong, 
whether  it  be  individual  or  combined.  He  is  not,  it 
is  true,  to  bring  his  church,  designed  for  another 
purpose,  to  bear  against  these  wrongs.  But  in  that 
church,  a  separate  spiritual  kingdom  in  the  midst  of 
earthly  kingdoms,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house, 
he  is  to  learn  the  lessons  and  imbibe  the  spirit  which 
will  fit  him  to  come  down  into  the  midst  of  this  bad 
world's  evil,  and  do  brave  work  for  God  and  man, 
for  righteousness  and  truth. 

St.  Paul,  as  an  inspired  teacher  of  the  church,  de- 
clared that  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God; 
but  he  did  not  declare  that  ISTero's  government  was 
administered  according  to  God's  ordination,  or  that 
it  was  to  be  always  tamely  submitted  to,  and  its  op- 
pressions borne,  when  it  became  excessively  cruel 
and  unjust,  as  a  religious  duty;  and  that  it  would  be 
wTrong  for  its  citizens  to  overthrow  it  in  any  circum- 
stances. The  duty  of  the  obedience  of  the  citizen 
and  subject  is  not  more  clearly  announced  than  that 
of  the  just  and  righteous  administration  of  the  ma- 
gistrate. When  duties  are  reciprocal,  it  by  no  means 
follows  that  the  one  remains  in  undiminished  obliga- 
tion when  the  other  has  been  wholly  and  grossly  vio- 
lated. We  have  the  directions  of  St.  Paul,  the  in- 
spired teacher  of  the  church,  as  to  the  duty  of 
Christians  toward  established  governments,  so  long 
as  they  continue  to  exert  and  perform  their  appro- 
priate functions.  But  we  have  not,  for  reasons 
which  have  been  developed  in  the  previous  dis- 
course, his  declaration  or  direction  as  to  the  duties 
or  privileges  of  Christian  citizens  in  reference  to 
the  reformation  or  overthrow  of  established  govern- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  189 

ments,  when  they  have  become  hideous  and  tyranni- 
cal perversions  of  all  the  purposes  for  which  govern- 
ments were  ordained.  These  were  subjects  on  which 
they  were  to  decide  their  own  duties  on  Gospel- 
principles  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  love  to  man. 
The  principles  upon  which  established  governments 
should  be  administered  and  obeyed  clearly  stated, — 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  revolution  and 
overthrow  of  oppressive  governments  may  be  a  right 
or  duty  left  undefined  and  to  be  settled  by  the  Chris- 
tian conscience, — this  is  St.  Paul's  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  powers  that  be. 

IY.  The  institutions  hitherto  enumerated  are 
divine  in  their  origin  but  utterly  perverted  in  their 
uses.  There  were  many  other  established  customs 
which  were  exceedingly  evil  in  themselves,  and  in 
their  effects,  and  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  spirit 
and  principles  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  wide-spread  dis- 
astrous influences,  to  which  St.  Paul  makes  no  ref- 
erence in  his  Epistles.  There  were  desolating  wars 
of  aggression  and  ambition ;  there  was  a  system  of 
concubinage  recognized  by  the  government;  there 
were  corrupting  spectacles  and  cruel  gladiatorial 
fights,  and  the  slaughters  of  the  amphitheater,  to 
which  the  hard  Romans,  as  if  retaining  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  ancestral  wolf,  were  passionately  de- 
voted. Of  these  I  will  mention  briefly  only  some 
of  those  spectacles  which  were  at  once  a  sign  and  an 
instrument  of  the  moral  corruption  that  so  fright- 
fully prevailed. 

The  extent  to  which  these  spectacles  were  carried, 
and  the  frenzy  of  devotion  to  them  on  the  part  of 
the  Roman  people,  seems  incredible.  One  of  the 
chief  cares  of  state  was  to  provide  them.  No  con- 

24 


190  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

sul  could  be  popular,  uo  edile  could  be  tolerated,  no 
candidate  for  the  favor  and  offices  of  the  people 
could  be  successful,  who  did  not  provide  or  furnish 
•them  on  a  scale  of  great  magnificence.  A  memor- 
able example  of  the  bloody  and  cruel  spirit  in  which 
these  spectacles  were  conducted  is  furnished  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius. 

s>  Julius  Caesar  had  examined  the  Lake  Fucinus  in 
the  gorges  of  the  Apennines,  and  had  conceived  the 
project  of  draining  it  and  recovering  it  for  agricul- 
tural uses.     It  was  in  an  elevated  position,  of  wide 
extent,  and  subject  to  an  irregular  rise  and  fall  and 
overflow.     Augustus  had  examined  the  subject  and 
rejected  the  project  of  draining  the  lake  as  imprac- 
ticable.     Claudius,   however,   undertook  the  task 
from  which  Augustus  had  recoiled.     He  attempted 
to  pierce  the  Apennines,  and  to  turn  the  water  into 
\the  River  Liris.     For  eleven  years  thirty  thousand 
'men  worked  incessantly  at  the  task  of  opening  a 
I  channel  three  miles  long.     When  it  was  supposed  to 
be  finished,  Claudius  wished  to  celebrate  the  event 
by  a  great  fete.     He  surrounded  the  lake  with  the 
r  Praetorian  guards,  and  with  a  rampart  provided  with 
|  instruments  of  war.    "Within  this  inclosure,  twenty- 
jfour  vessels,  divided  into  two  fleets,  had  sufficient 
i  space  to  move,  and  upon  these  vessels  nineteen  thou- 
•  sand  men,  condemned  to  death,  were  embarked,  and 
commanded  to  fight  to  the  death  for  the  amusement 
'  of  the  people.   Vast  multitudes  from  Rome  and  from 
ithe  neighboring   country  thronged  the  shores  and 
1  the  circling  hills.     Nature  had  provided  an  amphi- 
theater far  more  vast  than  the  Coliseum  for  a  spec- 
tacle of  blood  too  wide  to  be  crowded   into  any 
structure  of  human  make.     Claudius  presided,  with 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  191 

Agrippina  seated  by  his  side.  The  historian  men- 
tions that  her  robe  was  of  woven  gold  with  no  ad- 
mixture of  other  material.  A  silver  triton  rose  from 
the  water  and  sounded  his  shell  in  signal  that  the 
combat  should  begin.  Then  the  poor  victims  cried, 
"Csesar,  about  to  die,  we  salute  you!"  His  unskill- 
ful and  confused  answer  led  some  of  them  to  cry 
out  that  he  had  pronounced  a  pardon.  A  clamor  for 
mercy  rose  among  them,  and  for  a  space  they  de- 
layed the  fight.  Claudius,  in  a  rage,  threatened  to 
burn  them  all  alive  in  the  ships,  and  by  rebukes  and 
entreaties  persuaded  them  to  return  to  what  he 
called  their  duty.  The  horrible  slaughter  com- 
menced. The  excitement  and  applause  was  un- 
bounded. They  fought  fiercely.  All  perished. 
Thus  was  inaugurated  an  enterprise  which  was  not 
in  fact  successful,  and  was  never  completed.  It  has 
been  reserved  for  a  Roman  prince,  Torlonia,  to  com- 
plete what  a  Roman  emperor  in  vain  attempted. 
The  blood-stained  waters  refused  to  leave  their  bed. 
But  the  brutal  Romans  had  enjoyed  such  a  holiday 
as  no  potentate  but  a  Roman  emperor  could  have 
furnished,  and  no  people  but  the  degraded  populace/ 
of  the  Empire  could  have  relished. 

But  the  spectacles  at  Rome, — what  a  picture  do 
they  present  of  the  tastes  and  feelings  of  the  people! 
A  father  of  the  church  has  thus  designated  them : 
"The  infamy  of  the  circus,  the  indecency  of  the 
theater,  the  cruelty  of  the  amphitheater,  the  atrocity 
of  the  arena,  and  the  folly  of  the  games." 

At  this  period  all  taste  for  intellectual  power  or 
genius  in  the  amusements  of  the  people  of  every 
class  had  disappeared.  The  only  poetry  which  re- 
mained was  that  of  the  machinist  and  the  painter 


192  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

of  the  scenes.     On  the  stage  there  must  pass  troops 

of  horses,  chariots,  elephants,  cavalry,  and  infantry. 

On  one  occasion  six  hundred  mules  passed  over  the 

stage,  laden  with  the  spoils  of  a  captured  city ;  and 

hundreds  of  warriors  issued  from  the  flanks  of  a 

/gigantic  Trojan  horse.    Gross  reality;  brute  power; 

Isplendor  without   imagination   and   excitement   of 

J  feeling  only  from  the  view  of  suffering ; — these  were 

'  the  characteristics  of  this  deplorable  era. 

A  passion  for  pantomime  pervades  all  ranks. 
Formerly  forbidden  at  Rome,  because  of  the  facili- 
ties which  it  furnished  for  immorality,  the  professors 
of  the  art  now  teach  it  in  the  imperial  and  patrician 
halls. 

But  all  this  is  frivolous  amusement.  The  bloody 
arena  of  gladiators  and  beasts  furnished  the  serious 
and  stirring  occupations  of  Roman  life. 

The  more  bloody  the  more  acceptable.    The  com- 
,  bats  of  beasts  with  each  other,  and  of  men  with 
i  beasts,  constitute  their  deepest  joys.     They  will  sit 
'  twelve  hours  on  the  marble  steps  in  order  to  lose  no 
part  of  the  absorbing  performance.     Pompey  brings 
,  six  hundred  lions  into  the  arena;   Augustus  four 
I  hundred  panthers.     In  one  day  five  hundred  Gatu- 
*  lian  prisoners  fight  against  twenty  elephants.     Gi- 
raffes and  rhinoceroses  vary  the  scene.     Augustus 
in  one  series  of  fights  in  the  arena  sacrifices  thirty- 
five  hundred  animals.     Trajan  holds  games  for  one 
i  hundred  and  twenty-three  days,  and  on  each  occa- 
i  sion  from  one  thousand  to  ten  thousand  animals  are 
1  slaughtered.     Under  Titus,  five  thousand  perished 
,'  in  a  day.    When  blood  and  agony  and  death  become 
the  pastime  and  exhilaration  of  a  people,  homes 
must  be  brutal,  the  government  must  be  despotic, 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  193 

and  religion  only  the  worship,  because  the  dread,  of 
power. 

But  more  exciting  than  all  the  other  Roman  spec- 
tacles were  the  gladiatorial  combats.  It  gave  to 
Rome  a  taste  of  the  excitements  of  war.  The  La- 
nista  trained  his  gladiators  in  a  school  or  gymnasium, 
and  fed  them  with  raw  flesh,  that  they  might  be 
tierce  and  strong.  What  they  were,  or  what  they 
became,  may  be  seen  from  the  full-length  delinea- 
tion of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  of  them  in  mo- 
saic, which  were  found  in  the  baths  of  Caracalla, 
and  have  been  transferred  to  the  museum  of  the  La- 
teran.  The  view  of  those  brutal  heads  and  faces, 
and  those  brawny  limbs,  suggests  a  vivid  and  dis- 
gusting conception  of  the  character  of  the  Romans, 
who  made  heroes  of  those  trained  and  stolid  mur- 
derers. The  Lanista  bought  the  gladiators  if  they 
were  slaves,  or  hired  them  if  they  were  free.  They 
bound  themselves  on  the  penalty  of  death  never  to 
fly  or  yield  until  absolutely  overcome.  In  vain  did 
Augustus  endeavor  to  restrain  this  human  slaugh- 
ter. The  Romans  had  surrendered  to  him  their 
rights  as  citizens;  but  they  refused  to  surrender 
to  him  the  privilege  of  being  cruel  and  remorseless. 
The  art  of  slaying  was  diversified  by  pungent  varie- 
ties of  murder.  The  JEssedarii  fought  in  chariots; 
the  Rhetiarii,  on  foot;  the  Andabatee,  with  their  eyes 
bandaged.  The  Roman  people  attended  these  spec- 
tacles as  connoisseurs.  They  criticised  a  becomingr 
agony  as  they  would  a  representation  of  it  in  a  statue' 
or  a  painting.  They  applauded  a  good  murder.;  . 
They  hissed  a  victim  who  fell  awkwardly  on  the\ 
arena,  or  seemed  afraid  to  die.  All  around  the  in-' 
closure  there  was  a  confused  noise  of  plaudits,  cries 


194  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

of  joy,  sentences  of  death;  bets  won  and  bets  lost; 
bravos  for  a  wound  or  a  fall ;  bravos  for  those  who 
kill  well  and  those  who  die  well.  ' 

But  enough.  It  suffices  to  know  how  largely  spec- 
tacles, most  of  them  utterly  brutal  and  cruel,  en- 
tered into  the  Roman  life,  and  were  cared  for  by  the 
state,  and  to  find  at  the  same  time  in  Paul's  letter, 
written  from  Rome,  no  denunciation  of  them,  to  have 
an  additional  and  striking  demonstration  of  the  truth 
that  it  was  not  directly  against  institutions,  however 
evil,  but  against  the  evil  heart  of  man,  from  which 
they  sprang,  that  St.  Paul  directed  his  efforts. 

I  have  adduced  these  extreme  cases  of  wrong  and 
evil  in  customs  and  institutions,  against  which  St. 
Paul  makes  no  direct  assaults,  in  order  to  demon- 
strate the  fact,  strikingly  and  convincingly,  that  the 
Apostle  aimed  at  reforming  evil  within,  even  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  administer  evil  organizations, 
and  practice  and  profit  by  evil  customs.  St.  Paul, 
after  the  Master,  refused  to  interfere  in  the  sphere 
of  civil  or  social  wrongs,  which  it  belonged  to  the 
state  or  the  family  to  regulate.  But  this  by  no 
means  debarred  him  from  denouncing  the  sins  of 
heart  which  gave  rise  to  such  wrongs,  and  from  ex- 
hibiting the  evil  effects  of  such  sins  in  just  such 
cases  as  he  refused  to  interfere  with  or  adjudicate. 
Even  a  wise  human  father  will  rather  exhibit  to  his 
children  the  evil  of  the  bad  temper  and  passions 
from  which  their  dissensions  rise,  and  leave  them  to 
adjust  them  on  the  principles  which  he  has  incul- 
cated, rather  than  settle  them  himself  as  an  arbiter 
and  judge.  "When  one  came  to  Jesus  asking  him 
to  compel  his  brother  to  divide  the  inheritance  with 
him,  the  Saviour,  without  pausing  to  inquire  into 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  195 

the  right  or  wrong  of  the  request,  abruptly  refused 
interference,  saying,  "  Man,  who  made  me  a  ruler 
or  a  divider  over  you?"  Yet  if  both  those  brothers 
had  become  true  disciples  of  Christ,  the  most  abso- 
lute justice  would  have  been  accomplished;  for  the 
one  would  not  have  withheld  what  was  due,  and  the 
other  would  not  have  desired  what  was  not  just. 
Hence  the  Saviour,  adopting  the  divine  method  of 
regulating  the  evils  of  the  world,  struck  directly  at 
the  root  of  the  dissension  which  had  arisen  between 
them,  when  he  added,  "  Beware  of  covetousness." 
This  example  of  the  Master  was  followed  by  Paul 
and  all  the  Apostles. 

How  sublime — nay,  how  evidently  divine — is  this 
procedure!  He  enjoins  men,  if  subject  to  unjust 
laws,  to  obey  them  while  they  exist;  but  he  enjoins 
rulers  to  make  just  laws  and  to  govern  justly.  He 
tells  the  poor  to  be  patient  in  poverty;  but  at  the 
same  time  he  tells  the  rich  to  relieve  it.  He  bids 
the  wife  to  obey  the  husband ;  but  at  the  same  time 
enjoins  the  husband  so  to  love  the  wife  as  that  her 
obedience  maybe  spontaneous  and  joyful.  He  bids 
the  slave  to  obey  his  master;  and  at  the  same  time 
enjoins  his  master  to  treat  him  justly,  kindly,  and  as 
a  brother  in  the  Lord.  And  that  which  is  a  most 
striking  proof  of  the  divine  character  and  mission  of 
the  Gospel  is  that  it  reforms  the  world  by  the  singu- 
lar method  of  making  all  classes  act  against  their 
worldly  interests  and  their  passions.  It  engages  the 
master  in  the  interests  of  the  liberty  of  the  slave,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  reconciles  the  slave  to  bondage. 
It  enables  the  poor  to  avoid  coveting  or  demanding 
the  possessions  of  the  rich,  and  the  rich  to  give  of 
them  cheerfully  and  joyfully  to  the  poor.  Its  revo- 


196  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

lutionizing  principles  are  simply  these:  immense 
patience  on  the  part  of  those  who  suffer;  disinter- 
ested and  voluntary  sacrifice  are  the  part  of  those 
whq  enjoy. 

These  are  not  abstractions :  they  teach  us  to  com- 
mence the  removal  of  evil  from  the  world  by  re- 
moving it  first  from  our  own  hearts;  and  they  bid 
us  to  be  diligent  in  the  most  efficient  way  in  dimin- 
ishing human  wretchedness,  by  promoting  divine 
purity  and  joy;  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  patient 
in  the  midst  of  the  sorrows  and  wrongs  which  fall 
on  others,  and  peaceful  under  the  trials  which  befall 
ourselves. 


LECTURE  IX. 

ST.  PAUL'S  POSITION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  ESTABLISHED 
CUSTOMS  AND  INSTITUTIONS. 

For  perhaps  he  therefore  departed  for  a  season,  that  thou  shouldest 

receive  him  forever; 
Not  now  as  a  servant,  but  above  a  servant,  a  brother  beloved.  — 

PHILEMON,  15,  16. 


have  shown  that  St.  Paul  did  not  directly 
attack  established  evil  customs  and  institutions, 
nor  even  perversions  of  institutions  which  were 
divine.  He  taught  truth  and  duty.  He  attacked 
evil  in  the  heart.  He  gave  laws  and  directions 
for  the  right  ordering  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  He 
fenced  it  off  from  all  that  did  not  belong  to  it.  He 
taught  in  it  the  duty  due  in  every  divine  institu- 
tion, and  in  every  sphere  in  life.  He  would  not 
make  the  church  the  direct  agent  in  beating  down  any 
established  customs  and  institutions;  but  he  incul- 
cated principles  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  trans- 
forming the  evil  heart  out  of  which  all  evil  customs 
come,  would  undermine  and  displace  all  the  struc- 
tures of  iniquity,  and  all  the  habitations  of  cruelty 
in  the  world. 

This  course  of  procedure  is  the  more  noticeable 
from  the  fact  that  he  lived  in  an  era  of  the  world's 
history  when  crime  was  organized  and  established, 
and  when  it  would  seem  to  human  view  as  if  good 

25  (191) 


198  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

could  find  no  place  in  which  to  be  planted,  unless 
this  gigantic  growth  of  evil  should  be  first  cut  down. 
All  wisdom,  except  that  which  was  inspired,  would 
have  commenced  with  lopping  off  the  branches  and 
hewing  at  the  trunk  of  this  world-wide  upas  tree  of 
evil.  The  wisdom  that  is  divine  directed  itself  to 
evil  in  its  seeds  and  in  its  roots. 

There  is  another  principle  of  the  divine  procedure 
with  established  customs  and  institutions  which  it  is 
necessary  that  we  should  understand,  before  we  can 
study  intelligently  the  course  of  St.  Paul  in  refer- 
ence to  the  slave  Onesimus.  Divine  wisdom  does 
not  only  abstain  from  attacking  some  of  those  cus- 
toms and  relations,  which  are  evil  in  their  origin 
and  in  themselves,  but  it  even  enjoins  the  relative  du- 
ties which  they  involve,  so  long  as  they  continue  to 
exist. 

This  principle  had  been  already  sanctioned  by 
inspiration,  speaking  through  John  the  Baptist. 
Nothing  could  be  more  adverse  to  the  spirit  and 
precepts  of  the  Gospel  than  war.  It  is  a  guilty 
perversion  of  the  purposes  for  which  governments 
were  established.  Inspiration  traces  it  directly  to 
the  lusts  that  war  in  our  members.  (James,  iv.  1.) 
And  yet  when  the  soldiers  came  to  John  the  Bap- 
tist, demanding  of  him  what  shall  we  do  ?  (Luke,  iii. 
14,)  he  did  not  say,  "Refuse  to  fight — abandon  your 
trade  of  blood — leave  the  army — endure  scourging 
or  crucifixion  rather  than  be  the  hired  murderers  of 
Caesar;"  but  he  said  to  them,  "Do  violence  to  no 
man,  neither  accuse  any  falsely,  and  be  content  with 
your  wages."  Here  the  duties  of  a  relation  whose 
origin  is  evil  is  enjoined.  Government  is  divine. 
Magistracy  is  of  God.  The  coercion  of  evil  is  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME, 

proper  work  of  government.    War,  ^>r  ptn*pos<&  -of  S 
aggression,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  per 
pose;  and  yet  as  an  established  institui 
he  enjoined  a  faithful  discharge  of  the  moral  duties, 
and  the  peculiar  obligations  which  were  connected 
with  it.     But  it  certainly  does  not  follow  from  this 
fact  that  war  is  a  divine  institution,  or  that  it  met 
the  approval  of  the  Saviour. 

The  same  principle  appears  in  St.  Paul's  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  He  declares  it  to  be 
unlawful  for  a  Christian  to  marry  a  heathen.  Yet 
if  by  the  conversion  of  one  party  to  Christianity,  a 
Christian  husband  or  wife  is  found  to  be  united  to 
a  heathen,  he  does  not  enjoin  separation.  On  the 
contrary,  he  recommends  a  continuance  in  that  rela- 
tion. "If  any  brother  hath  a  wife  that  believeth 
not,  and  she  be  pleased  to  dwell  with  him,  let  him 
not  put  her  away.  And  the  woman  that  hath  a  hus- 
band that  believeth  not,  and  if  he  be  pleased  to 
dwell  with  her  let  her  not  leave  him.  For  the  un- 
believing husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and  the 
unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband."  (1 
Corin.  vii.  14,  15.)  Here  we  see  what  may  be  called 
the  sanctified  common  sense ;  the  plain  and  practical 
wisdom  of  the  ethics  of  Christianity.  St.  Paul  for- 
bids a  certain  relation;  when,  however,  it  is  found 
in  fact  existing,  without  the  guilt  which  would  have 
arisen  from  its  voluntary  adoption,  he  does  not  de- 
clare that  it  should  be  broken,  but  prescribes  the 
duties  which  it  involves.  His  injunction  of  the  du- 
ties which  belong  to  the  relation  evidently  consti- 
tutes no  sanction  or  approbation  of  the  institution. 

By  the  light  of  these  principles  we  see  the  error 
of  those  who  have  considered  that  slavery  has  re- 


200  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

ceived  the  divine  approbation,  and  is  as  really  a  di- 
vine institution  as  the  family  and  the  state.  The 
Scriptures  indeed  prescribe  the  duties  of  this  rela- 
tion. St.  Paul  often  enlarges  on  the  reciprocal  obli- 
gations of  master  and  slave.  But  we  have  seen  that 
it  is  not  the  divine  mode  of  procedure  to  attack  hu- 
man institutions  which  are  the  expression  or  the 
stimulant  of  evil ;  but  to  correct  the  evil  heart  out  of 
which  they  spring,  and  while  they  exist  to  prescribe 
the  mutual  duties  which  arise  in  them.  God  from 
the  beginning  has  enjoined  the  union  of  one  man 
and  woman  as  alone  lawful,  and  proclaims  the  mar- 
riage of  a  second  wife  to  be  adultery;  and  yet  when 
among  the  Jews  concubinage,  or  secondary  marriage, 
became  established,  God  at  the  same  time  leaves  the 
law  unrepealed,  and  yet  forbears  to  denounce  as  evil 
all  who  have  adopted  this  evil  custom.  David  re- 
ceives many  divine  directions;  but  none  that  I  am 
aware  of  to  the  effect  that  he  should  repudiate  all 
his  wives  but  one.  And  there  is  one  remarkable 
record  in  reference  to  King  Joash,  which  seems  to 
show  that  this  toleration  on  the  part  of  God  of  an 
evil  when  it  became  established,  had  led  even  a 
prophet  to  suppose  that  because  it  had  not  been 
condemned  after  it  had  been  practiced,  it  might  be 
lawful  to  originate  the  practice.  In  the  same  verses 
which  declare  that  Joash  did  that  which  was  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  it  is  announced  that  two 
wives  were  selected  for  him.  "And  Joash  did  that 
which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  all  the  days 
of  Jehoida  the  priest ;  and  Jehoida  took  for  him  two 
wives,  and  he  begat  sons  and  daughters." 

Wars  are  the  outgrowth  of  human  sin,  and  John 
the  Baptist  does  not  abolish  the  function,  but  pro- 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  201 

scribes  the  duties  of  the  soldier.  Christians  should 
not  marry  heathens;  but  if  they  find  themselves  in 
that  relation  it  is  not  to  be  dissolved,  but  rather  the 
new  and  sacred  duties  which  arise  from  it  are  to  be 
discharged.  In  like  manner  slavery,  an  existing  in- 
stitution, protected  by  the  laws  and  part  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state,  though  cruel  in  its  origin  and 
unjust  in  its  very  nature,  is  not  denounced  as  that 
which  must  be  at  once  destroyed;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  described  as  a  relation  which  involves  re- 
ciprocal and  solemn  obligations.  "We  cannot,  from 
this  divinely  wise  and  practical  spirit  in  which  Chris- 
tianity deals  with  human  evil,  organized  into  systems 
and  institutions,  conclude  that  they  are  approved  of 
God ;  and  much  less  can  we  infer  that  they  are  divine 
in  origin  and  obligation.  We  cannot  turn  back  to 
tolerated  polygamy,  and  say  that  it  was  established. 
"We  cannot  enroll  war  among  the  duties  of  man,  be- 
cause John  the  Baptist  specifies  the  moral  duties  of 
the  soldier  whose  profession  is  war.  E~or,  in  like 
manner,  can  we  infer  slavery  to  be  approved  or  en- 
joined because  the  master  is  exhorted  to  be  just 
and  merciful,  and  the  slave  to  be  faithful  and  obe- 
dient. 

We  may  advance  a  step  further.  The  absence  of 
condemnation  is  not  to  be  construed  as  approbation. 
St.  Paul  was  at  Home  when  the  cruel  sports  of  the 
amphitheater — the  slaughter  of  beasts  and  men  in 
combat — was  an  absorbing  passion  with  the  Ro- 
mans. Yet  in  his  letter  from  Rome  there  is  not  a 
word  of  condemnation  of  this  enormous  sin.  It  is 
absurd  to  conclude  that  this  bloody  pastime  met  with 
his  approbation.  We  cannot  conclude  therefore 
that  because  St.  Paul  did  not  specially  condemn 


202  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

slavery  in  his  Epistles,  that  he  regarded  it  as  just 
and  right. 

In  these  two  principles  then,  viz.,  that  of  not  at- 
tacking evil  institutions  but  the  evil  heart  from 
which  they  come,  and  that  of  prescribing  the  duties 
of  relations  which  are  established,  we  find  an  expla- 
nation of  St.  Paul's  treatment  of  slavery,  and  of  One- 
simus  the  slave. 

I.  In  the  Epistles  which  St.  Paul  wrote  from  Rome 
there  are  several  exhortations  to  masters  and  slaves. 
"  Servants,  obey  in  all  things  your  masters  according 
to  the  flesh;  not  with  eye-service,  as  men  pleasers; 
but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God.  And  what- 
soever ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  unto  the  Lord,  and 
not  unto  men;  knowing  that  of  the  Lord  ye  shall 
receive  the  reward  of  the  inheritance;  for  ye  serve 
the  Lord  Christ.  "  But  he  that  doeth  wrong  shall  re- 
ceive for  the  wrong  which  he  hath  done :  and  there 
is  no  respect  of  persons."  (Col.  iii.  22-25.)  Here 
Christian  slaves  are  addressed  as  those  who  owe  a 
duty  to  their  masters;  duty  which  should  be  ren- 
dered as  unto  the  Lord  and  not  unto  men.  They 
serve  the  Lord  Christ;  they  shall  receive  from  him 
reward;  if  they  do  wrong  they  shall  be  punished. 
Then  follows  an  exhortation  to  masters.  "Masters, 
give  unto  your  servants  that  which  is  just  and  equal, 
knowing  that  ye  also  have  a  Master  in  heaven." 
(Col.  iv.  1.)  Here  the  reciprocal  obligation  of  jus- 
tice on  the  part  of  the  master,  and  fidelity  on  the 
part  of  the  slave,  are  clearly  enjoined. 

The  same  exhortations,  in  words  almost  identical, 
are  repeated  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  (vi. 
5-9.) 

II.   In  precise  harmony  with   these   injunctions 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  203 

was  St.  Paul's  treatment  of  the  case  of  the  slave 
Onesimus.  He  belonged  to  Philemon,  a  member  of 
the  church  of  Colosse.  He  may  have  known  of  St. 
Paul  in  his  master's  house.  He  may  have  resorted 
to  the  Apostle  for  the  relief  of  his  destitution.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  he  came  to  him  and  was  converted 
to  the  faith  of  Christ  and  confessed  his  sins  against 
his  master.  St.  Paul  seems  to  have  been  strongly 
attracted  toward  Onesimus.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered in  this  connection  that  slaves  were  frequently 
persons  of  education  and  refinement.  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  him  as  one  who  might  be  profitable  to 
him  in  his  work.  He  wishes  to  retain  him  in  Rome 
as  a  fellow-helper.  Yet  he  would  not  violate  the 
law  of  the  state  which  made  him  the  property  of 
his  master.  He  would  not  assume,  on  the  higher 
grounds  of  the  religious  obligations  of  Philemon, 
to  decide  for  Mm  that  it  was  his  duty  to  release  his 
slave.  He  therefore  sent  him  to  his  master  with 
Tychicus,  who  was  charged  with  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians.  It  is  in  this  very  Epistle,  which  Onesi- 
mus, with  Tychicus,  carried  to  Colosse,  that  the 
most  full  exposition  of  the  duties  of  master  and  ser- 
vant contained  in  the  New  Testament  are  to  be 
found.  He  intimated  his  wish  to  Philemon  that 
Onesimus  might  be  released  for  the  sake  of  the 
church,  but  he  left  the  decision  of  the  question  to 
his  own  sense  of  duty.  The  letter  which  he  wrote 
by  Onesimus  is  a  model  of  delicacy,  Christian  mod- 
eration, and  affection.  A  part  of  it,  in  the  transla- 
tion of  Conybeare  and  Howson,  I  subjoin. 

''Wherefore,  although  in  the  authority  of  Christ, 
I  might  boldly  enjoin  upon  thee  that  which  is  befit- 
ting, yet  for  love's  sake  I  rather  beseech  thee,  as 


204  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Paul  the  aged  and  now  also  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ. 
I  beseech  thee  for  my  son  whom  I  have  now  begot- 
ten in  my  chains,  Onesimus;  who  formerly  was  to 
thee  unprofitable,  but  now  is  profitable  both  to  thee 
and  me.  Whom  I  have  sent  back  to  thee;  but  do 
thou  receive  him  as  my  own  flesh  and  blood.  For 
I  would  gladly  retain  him  to  myself,  that  he  might 
render  service  to  me  in  thy  stead,  while  I  am  a  pris- 
oner, for  declaring  the  glad  tidings;  but  I  am  un- 
willing to  do  anything  without  thy  decision;  that 
thy  kindness  may  not  be  constrained  but  voluntary. 
For  perhaps  to  this  very  end  he  was  parted  from  thee 
for  a  time  that  thou  mightest  possess  him  forever; 
no  longer  as  a  bondsman  but  above  a  bondsman, 
a  brother  beloved;  very  dear  to  me,  but  how  much 
more  to  thee,  being  thine  own  both  in  the  flesh  and 
in  the  Lord.  If  then  thou  count  me  in  fellowship 
with  thee,  receive  him  as  myself.  But  whatsoever 
he  has  wronged  thee  of  or  owes  thee,  reckon  it  to 
my  account.  I,  Paul,  write  this  with  mine  own 
hand.  I  will  repay  it;  for  I  would  not  say  that  thou 
owest  to  me  even  thine  own  self  besides.  Yet, 
brother,  let  me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord;  com- 
fort my  heart  in  Christ.  I  write  in  full  confidence 
of  thy  obedience,  knowing  that  thou  wilt  do  even 
more  than  I  say."  (8-21.) 

Let  us  now  endeavor  to  deduce  from  this  Epistle 
some  of  the  truths  and  principles  which  it  contains 
in  reference  to  the  institution  of  slavery. 

1.  There  is  no  reason  to  infer,  from  the  case  of 
Onesimus,  that  St. Paul  approved  of  the. institution 
of  slavery,  or  considered  it  to  be  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel.  There  is  no 
such  approbation  expressed.  There  is  none  im- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  205 

plied.  The  failure  to  condemn  does  not,  as  we  have 
seen,  conclude  approbation.  The  exhortations  to 
perform  the  reciprocal  obligations  of  this  relation, 
as  we  have  also  seen,  do  not  imply  that  the  relation 
itself  is  right  and  just,  such  as  Christians  should 
originate  and  perpetuate,  but  only  that  while  it  does 
continue,  the  moral  duties  which  it  involves  should 
be  faithfully  discharged. 

2.  But  there  is  a  recognition  of  the  right  of  Phil- 
emon, in  accordance  with  the  then  existing  laws,  to 
claim  the  services  of  his  slave.  This  is  evidently 
regarded  by  St.  Paul  as  the  civil  right  of  his  friend. 
St.  Paul  does  not  raise  or  touch  the  question  whether 
it  ought  ever  to  have  become  an  established  right. 
As  a  Christian  teacher,  he  does  not  feel  called  upon 
to  discuss  the  justice  of  the  laws  or  institutions  of 
the  state,  but  only  in  a  general  way  to  enjoin  obedi- 
ence to  the  powers  that  be  and  the  laws  that  are. 
Christianity,  leavening  minds  and  hearts  and  con- 
sciences and  communities,  will  gradually  remove 
unrighteous  institutions  and  improve  all  human 
legislation.  But  in  the  mean  time  he  recognizes  the 
legal  and  vested  right  of  Philemon  to  the  services 
of  Onesimus.  This  is  implied  in  the  fact  that  he 
sends  him  to  Philemon,  with  the  request  that  he 
would  release  him  from  the  obligation.  If  it  had 
not  been  a  right  on  the  part  of  Philemon,  St.  Paul 
would  not  have  requested  him  to  waive  it.  Had  it 
been  a  civil  right,  yet  religiously  wrong  in  Phile- 
mon, under  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed,  St.  Paul  would  have  forbidden  it  by  his 
Apostolic  authority.  But  he  expressly  forbears  from 
commanding,  and  limits  himself  to  entreating.  So 
that  while  we  have  no  evidence  and  no  hint  that  he 

26 


206  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

approved  of  the  institution  in  itself,  we  see  that  as 
one  which  existed  and  was  protected  by  the  laws,  he 
recognizes  its  rights  and  duties. 

3.  Yet  while  St.  Paul  plainly  admits  the  right  of 
Philemon  to  the  services  of  Onesimus,  there  is  no 
reason  to  infer  that  he  felt  himself  under  a  legal  ob- 
ligation to  remand  him  to  his  master.     This  case 
has  been   singularly  treated   as  if  it  were  one  in 
which  St.  Paul  felt  himself  bound  to  send  back  his 
son  in  the  Gospel  to  servitude,  in  obedience  to  some 
existing  fugitive  slave  law,  or  from  a  sense  of  reli- 
gious obligation  to  the  institution  of  slavery.     But 
of  this  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  proof.     Onesi- 
mus may  have  desired  to  return.     He  may  have  felt 
that  he  had  been  ungrateful  to  his  master,  and  now 
as  a  Christian  he  may  have  desired  to  render  due 
reparation.     It  is  intimated  by  St.  Paul  that  he  had 
defrauded  his  master,  and  now  as  a  sincere  Christian 
he  might  wish  to  go  and  confess  his  faults,  and  to 
the  best  of  his  ability  make  amends.    St.  Paul  might 
have  approved  and  encouraged  his  purpose  to  re- 
turn to  his  master  on  these  grounds.      He  might 
have  done  the  same  thing  if  Onesimus  had  been  an 
apprentice  or  a  free  laborer.     It  was  no  case  of  the 
rendition  of  a  fugitive  slave  in  obedience  to  legal  or 
moral  obligation,  or  in  the  interests  of  slavery.     St. 
Paul  may  have  sent  Onesimus  at  his  own  request. 
It  is  certain  that  true   religious   principle   should 
have  made  him  desirous  to  return,  and  would  have 
prompted  Paul  to  encourage  him  to  fulfill  that  desire. 

4.  And,  moreover,  though  St.  Paul  evidently  ac- 
knowledges Philemon's  legal  right  to  the  services 
of  his  slave  as  aforetime,  and  though  he  does  not 
expressly  declare  that  it  would  be  morally  or  reli- 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  207 

giously  wrong  to  enforce  that  legal  right,  he  just  as 
evidently  did  not  send  him  hack  with  the  purpose 
or  the  expectation  that  he  would  he  remanded  to 
slavery.  Much  less  is  there  anything  to  prove,  as 
has  been  asserted,  that  the  great  object  for  which 
St.  Paul  sent  back  Onesimus  was  that  the  relation 
should  be  renewed  and  rendered  perpetual.  He 
did  not  say,  "It  is  your  religious  duty,  Onesimus,  to 
go  back  and  put  yourself  again  in  bondage ;  and  it 
is  equally  your  religious  duty,  Philemon,  to  keep 
him  there."  It  is  most  evident  that  he  had  no  such 
object.  On  the  contrary,  his  object  seems  to  have 
been,  that  inasmuch  as  Onesimus  had  now  become 
a  Christian,  he  should  return  to  his  wronged  and 
defrauded  master,  and  as  a  Christian,  on  Christian 
grounds,  such  as  would  have  been  obligatory  if  he 
had  not  been  a  slave  but  only  a  hired  servant,  put 
himself  in  a  right  relation  to  his  master,  and  that 
his  master  should  put  himself  in  a  right  relation  to 
his  penitent  and  converted  slave.  If  St.  Paul  had 
wished  Onesimus  to  be  remanded  into  bondage,  he 
would  have  expressed  the  wish. 

5.  And  yet  it  is  quite  possible,  in  view  of  St. 
Paul's  exhortations  to  master  and  slave,  to  imagine 
a  case  somewhat  different  from  what  I  suppose  that 
of  Onesimus  to  have  been,  in  which  St.  Paul  might 
have  recommended  the  Christian  slave  to  have  re- 
turned into  bondage,  and  in  which  he  might  have 
enjoined  the  Christian  master  to  retain  him  in  that 
position.  I  mention  such  a  supposable  case  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  how  different  the  application  of 
the  same  principles  may  be  when  the  circumstances 
differ.  If,  as  in  the  case  of  Onesimus,  a  slave  had 
defrauded  his  master,  it  would  be  his  duty  to  return 


208  ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME. 

when  he  became  a  Christian,  and -acknowledge  his 
fault,  and  put  himself  in  a  right  moral  relation  to 
him.  And  if,  moreover,  he  was  one  who  had  be- 
come unfit  for  any  other  position,  and  unable  to  pro- 
vide for  himself  and  family,  and  if  in  his  master's 
service  he  could  have  enjoyed  good  religious  privi- 
leges, we  can  well  believe  that  St.  Paul  might  have 
recommended  not  only  that  he  should  return  and 
confess  his  wrong,  but  also  that  he  should  return  to 
bondage,  and  that  the  master  should  keep  him  in 
that  position.  In  that  case  the  Apostle  might  ap- 
propriately have  repeated  the  exhortations  which 
are  found  in  his  Epistles.  This  course  of  proceed- 
ing would  have  been  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
principles  which  we  discern  in  his  teachings  and  his 
conduct. 

6.  But  it  appears  very  plain  that  St.  Paul  did  not 
consider  that  the  institution  of  slavery  remained  on 
the  same  footing,  when  master  and  slave  became 
Christians,  as  it  was  before.  Its  legal  status,  indeed, 
was  not  changed,  but  neither  master  nor  slave  took 
the  same  view  as  before  of  its  prerogatives  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  its  duties  on  the  other.  That  was  not  law- 
ful in  the  eye  of  the  master  which  was  lawful  in  the 
eye  of  the  law.  That  was  not  duty  in  the  view  of 
the  slave  which  law  and  custom  had  enjoined  as 
duty.  On  the  one  hand,  the  master  did  not  feel  it  to 
be  right  to  exercise  cruelty,  or  to  enjoin  immoral 
and  polluting  services  upon  his  slave.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  slave  did  not  feel  it  his  duty  to  obey  com- 
mands which  would  involve  a  denial  of  his  Master 
in  heaven,  or  a  violation  of  the  law  of  God.  It  is 
evident  that  this  change  in  the  moral  position  of  the 
parties  completely  changed  the  character  of  the  in- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  209 

stitution,  and  took  from  it  just  those  elements  which 
constituted  it  slavery,  in  contradistinction  to  other 
menial  service.  This  fact  appears  from  the  language 
of  St.  Paul.  Says  the  Apostle,  "For  perhaps  he 
departed  for  a  season  that  thou  shouldst  receive  him 
forever,  not  now  as  a  servant,  but  above  a  servant,  a 
brother  beloved  specially  to  me,  but  how  much  more 
unto  thee  both  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  Lord."  Here 
St.  Paul  states  explicitly  that  by  becoming  a  Chris- 
tian he  had  become  a  brother,  and  was  no  longer  as 
a  servant  but  above  a  servant.  It  is  as  much  as  if 
he  had  said  to  him,  "I  send  Onesimus  to  you,  recog- 
nizing your  legal  right,  if,  on  the  whole,  you  shall 
conclude  to  exercise  it,  to  his  services.-  Without 
entering  upon  any  questions  as  to  the  justice  of  this 
relation,  I  have,  as  you  remember,  enjoined  the  re- 
ciprocal duties  which  it  involves  so  long  as  it  con- 
tinues. They  are,  you  observe,  very  different  from 
what,  on  heathen  grounds,  have  been  hitherto  ac- 
cepted. The  slave  is  not  now  to  be  regarded  as 
merely  an  animated  thing,  to  be  used  with  no  recog- 
nition of  his  rights  as  a  man,  and  no  recognition  of 
his  brotherhood.  He  is  now  above  a  servant,  in  the 
heathen  sense  of  that  term.  As  you  are  both  Chris- 
tians, both  and  equally  the  purchased  possession  of 
the  Master,  both  redeemed  and  loved  by  the  same 
God  and  Saviour,  he  is  no  longer  a  servant  but  a 
brother  beloved.  If  you  should  still  retain  him  in 
the  relation  of  servant,  lay  to  heart,  as  I  have  en- 
joined Onesimus  to  lay  to  heart,  the  injunctions 
which  I  have  given  to  both  parties  who  sustain  to 
each  other  that  relation." 

7.  Thus  by  sending  Onesimus  to  his  master,  and 
therefore  recognizing  his  claim  to  the  services  of  his 


210  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

slave — recognizing  them  still  further  by  the  earnest 
request  that  he  would  waive  them  for  the  sake  of 
the  church  and  from  affection  to  himself,  "Xow 
Paul  the  aged,"  the  Apostle  yet  speaks  as  if,  al- 
though he  entreats  Philemon  he  might  command  him: 
"wherefore  though  I  might  be  much  bold  in  Christ 
to  enjoin  that  which  is  convenient,  yet  for  love's 
sake  I  rather  beseech  thee,  being  such  an  one  as 
Paul  the  aged,  and  now  also  a  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Christ."  What  is  it  that  St.  Paul  claims  he  might 
have  commanded?  Not  certainly  that  he  should 
have  emancipated  his  slave  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
a  relation  which  it  was  wicked  for  him  for  a  mo- 
ment to  sustain.  This  cannot  be,  because  he  had 
enjoined  the  reciprocal  duties  of  that  relation.  It 
could  not  be,  that  he,  as  a  ruler  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom,  possessed  a  power  of  abrogating,  even  in 
individual  cases,  the  laws  and  institutions  of  states ; 
for  he  had  written,  "let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the 
higher  powers!"  It  must  have  been  on  some  other 
ground  that  St.  Paul  claimed  that  he  might  have  en- 
joined Philemon  to  release  Onesimus.  St.  Paul  was 
an  inspired  Apostle  of  the  church,  and  specially 
designated  to  the  Apostleship  of  the  Gentiles. 
Philemon  is  called  a  fellow-laborer  with  St.  Paul. 
Whether  in  the  ministry  or  a  layman,  he  had  ac- 
cepted the  position  as  a  laborer  for  the  Gospel,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  inspired  Apostle.  As  such  the 
Apostle  possessed  the  right  to  enjoin  upon  him  what 
was  necessary  for  the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  to  whose  interests  he  was  consecrated.  Phile- 
mon was  at  liberty  to  manumit  his  slaves.  But  St. 
Paul  does  not  say  that  he  w^s  bound  to  do  it  on  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  211 

ground  of  moral  obligation,  because  slaveholding  in 
all  cases  and  circumstances  is,  like  theft  and  adul- 
tery, always  sin.  At  liberty,  but  not  necessarily 
bound,  on  moral  grounds,  to  manumit  his  slaves, 
Philemon  might  yet  be  under  moral  or  religious 
obligations  to  do  it  from  regard  to  the  interests  of 
the  church.  The  freedom  of  Onesimus  might  be 
necessary  that  he  might  do  sendee  to  Paul,  or  other 
service  as  a  fellow- worker  in  the  Gospel.  It  is  on 
this  ground  that  he  claims  that  he  might  have  been 
bold  to  command.  But  he  prefers  to  beseech.  "  "Whom 
I  would  have  retained  with  me  that  in  thy  stead  he 
might  have  administered  to  me  in  the  bonds  of  the 
Gospel.  But  without  thy  mind  would  I  do  nothing; 
that  thy  benefit  should  not  be  as  it  were  of  necessity 
but  willingly."  St.  Paul  offers  personally  to  pay 
whatever  Onesimus  may  owe  his  master.  "If  he 
have  wronged  thee,  or  owe  thee  aught,  put  that  on 
my  account.  I,  Paul,  have  written  it  with  my  own 
hand;  I  will  repay  it."  He  thus  removes  in  advance 
the  obstacles  which  might  make  Philemon  perhaps 
indisposed  to  accede  to  his  request;  and  then  con- 
cludes with  the  expression  of  his  confidence  that 
he  will  do  even  more  than  he  has  been  requested. 

Such,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  educe  them, 
are  the  views  and  principles  by  which  St.  Paul  was 
guided  in  the  treatment  of  this  remarkable  case  of 
Onesimus.  As  the  subject  is  one  of  much  difficulty, 
I  beg  leave  to  connect  the  points  which  I  have  made 
in  one  brief  statement : 

(1)  St.  Paul,  in  the  case  of  Onesimus,  neither  ex- 
presses nor  implies  an  approval  of  the  institution  of 
slavery  as  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  precepts  of 


212  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

the  Gospel;  (2)  yet  he  recognizes  the  legal  right  of 
Philemon  to  claim  the  services  of  his  slave,  while  (3) 
at  the  same  time  he  does  not  admit  any  legal  or 
moral  obligation  on  himself  to  remand  that  slave  to 
his  master;  nor  (4)  does  he  send  him  back  in  the 
interests  of  slavery,  in  order  that  his  bondage  may 
be  renewed  and  rendered  perpetual;  (5)  though 
St.  Paul  might,  under  some  circumstances,  have  en- 
joined or  recommended  a  servant  to  return  into 
bondage,  and  the  master  to  render  it  perpetual,  yet 
(6)  it  is  evident  from  his  language  in  this  case,  that 
if  this  should  be  done,  Christianity  would  have  com- 
pletely changed  the  relation  of  the  parties  from  what 
it  had  been  under  heathenism,  and  that  the  slave 
was  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  thing,  or  an  animal  for 
mere  use  and  profit,  but  as  a  brother  beloved  in  the 
Lord;  (7)  it  appears  also,  that  although  St.  Paul 
claims  that  he  might  have  commanded  what  he  re- 
quests, he  does  it,  not  on  the  ground  of  divine  au- 
thority over  human  enactments,  but  by  virtue  of  his 
Apostolic  authority,  and  in  behalf  of  the  church  of 
God. 

To  that  impatient  spirit  which  expects  the  king- 
dom of  God  to  come  with  observation,  this  proceed- 
ing of  St.  Paul  may  seem  to  have  been,  slow  and 
circuitous,  and  scarcely  consistent  with  that  sincerity 
and  godly  simplicity  which  he  himself  so  earnestly 
enjoins.  It  would  even  seem  as  if  there  were  some 
good  Christians  who  would  have  preferred  that  this 
Epistle  had  not  been  written.  Yet  if  it  were  not  in 
the  Sacred  Canon,  we  should  be  without  a  remark- 
able practical  exemplification  of  the  mode  by  which 
the  Gospel  removes  the  evils  that  prevail  in  the 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  213 

world.  It  is  good  gaining  on  and  supplanting  evil, 
as  the  light,  by  penetrating  into,  dispels  and  sup- 
plants the  darkness.  One  might  as  well  accuse  the 
growing  dawn  of  a  compromise  with  darkness,  as  to 
charge  upon  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  Philemon  a  Chris- 
tian sanction  to  slavery.  It  is  an  Epistle  eminently 
profitable  for  "instruction  in  righteousness." 


27 


LECTURE  X. 

For  perhaps  he  departed  from  thee  for  a  season  that  thou  shouldst 
receive  him  forever. 

Not  now  as  a  servant,  but  above  a  servant,  a  brother  beloved. — PHIL- 
EMON, 15,  16. 

IN  a  previous  Lecture  I  have  explained  the  rela- 
tion of  St.  Paul  to  the  institution  of  slavery  as 
illustrated  in  his  treatment  of  the  ease  of  the  slave 
Onesimus. 

III.  That  St.  Paul's  proceedings  in  this  case  arose 
from  his  fixed  principle  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
was  not  directly  to  assault  human  customs  and  in- 
stitutions and  the  laws  of  states,  will  appear  beyond 
all  question  if  we  consider  the  condition  of  slaves 
at  the  period  when  Paul  wrote  from  Rome.  It 
would  be  an  insult  to  the  Apostle  to  suppose  for  a 
moment  that  he  could  have  approved  of  an  institu- 
tion so  utterly  inhuman.  It  shows  him  to  have  been 
restrained  and  guided  by  a  wisdom  from  above  that 
he  could  have  abstained  from  forbidding  Christians 
from  holding  such  a  relation  as  that  of  master  to  a 
slave.  Let  us  look  at  the  institution  of  slavery  as  it 
then  existed  at  Rome,  and  as  St.  Paul  saw  it  beneath 
his  eye  when  he  penned  his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians, 
and  sent  it  by  Tychicus  and  Onesimus. 

The   condition  of  the  common  plebeian  or  field 

slave  among  the  Romans  was  excessively  wretched. 

Placed  upon  the  block  of  a   slave  dealer  in   the 

Forum,  and  exposed  like  any  other   merchandise 

(214) 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  215 

for  sale,  lie  could  be  purchased  for  what  in  modern 
value  would  be  five  hundred  francs,  or  one  hundred 
dollars.  The  janitor,  or  door-keeper,  was  sold  with 
the  house.  The  vicarius,  or  servant  of  a  slave,  was 
not  so  much  regarded  as  the  animals  of  whose  com- 
fort he  had  reason  to  be  envious.  The  master  in 
some  cases  personally  knew  but  few  of  the  slaves 
that  thronged  his  courts,  and  would  condescend  to 
communicate  with  them  only  through  an  agent,  or 
by  the  medium  of  imperious  gestures.  The  slave 
was  not  regarded  as  a  man,  and  the  Romans  were 
accustomed  to  use  neuter  and  abstract  terms  to  de- 
scribe him.  He  was  not  so  often  called  servus,  a  ser- 
vant, as  servitium,  service ;  not  so  frequently  homo,  a 
man,  as  corpus,  &  body,  or  mancipium,  property.  Ac- 
cording to  law  he  was  only  a  thing.  One  of  the 
common  descriptions  given  of  the  slave  was  that  he 
was  an  animated  tool,  and  of  a  tool  that  he  was  an 
inanimate  slaye.  If  he  injures  the  property  of  an- 
other, it  is  the  master  who  must  make  indemnity. 
If  he  is  injured  or  slain  by  another,  indemnity  is 
made  to  the  master.  As  he  is  not  regarded  as  a 
man,  engagements  with  him  are  not  considered 
binding,  and  he  has  no  rights  which  a  freeman  is 
bound  to  respect. 

It  results  from  the  same  cause  that  he  can  have  no 
wife,  no  family,  no  relations.  His  wife,  if  he  is  al- 
lowed by  the  gratuitous  kindness  of  the  master  a 
quasi  marriage,  or  contubernium,  is  not  his,  nor  his 
children  his,  in  any  true  sense  of  right  or  possession ; 
for  they  belong  absolutely  to  another,  and  can  be 
taken  from  him,  and  used  in  any  way  the  master 
pleases,  at  any  moment.  Among  slaves  there  can 
be  neither  husband,  nor  wife,  nor  father,  nor  mother, 


216  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

nor  children.  Nay,  the  slave  is  not  permitted  to  have 
a  god.  Cato  the  elder,  with  that  rigid  and  remorse- 
less logic  which  distinguished  him,  wrote  that  the 
master  only  could  perform  religious  rites  for  the 
slaves,  and  that  they  must  not  presume  to  make  any 
offerings  to  the  gods  without  the  permission  of  their 
master.  This  was  the  Roman  right  and  law.  A 
kind  master,  indeed,  would  permit  his  slaves  to  cel- 
ebrate some  low  rites  connected  with  religion,  but 
they  all  bore  the  stamp  of  the  debasement  which  be- 
longed to  his  condition.  The  shepherds  enjoyed 
their  rude  sacrificial  rites,  in  which  wild  revelry  and 
license  prevailed.  The  slaves  in  the  city  were  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  their  saturnalia  and  the  women  their 
matronales;  but  all  these  were  gifts  and  concessions 
from  their  masters,  which  might  be  at  any  time  with- 
held. 

Although  it  was  not  altogether  impossible  for 
slaves  to  purchase  their  freedom  in  peculiarly  favor- 
able circumstances,  and  on  the  indispensable  condi- 
tion of  the  good- will  of  the  master,  yet  it  was  exceed- 
ingly difficult. 

The  Emperors  Claudius  and  Augustus  had  at- 
tempted to  limit  the  arbitrary  and  absolute  right  of 
the  master  over  the  person  and  life  of  the  slave. 
But  manners  and  habits  proved  stronger  than  laws. 
As  the  nation  grew  more  cruel  and  more  devoted  to 
the  sports  of  the  amphitheater,  and  more  careless  of 
human  life,  it  would  not  be  likely  to  grow  more  kind 
and  considerate  to  the  slave.  Juvenal,  in  a  well- 
known  passage,  depicts  a  woman  who,  with  no  mo- 
tive but  caprice,  consigns  her  slave  to  the  cross. 
Pollio  fed  his  eels  with  the  flesh  of  slaves.  The 
crosses  upon  the  Esquiline  hill,  with  the  bodies  of 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  217 

crucified  slaves  polluting  the  air,  or  with  their 
ghastly  skeletons  rattling  in  the  wind,  constantly  re- 
minded the  slave  to  beware  how  he  provoked  the 
omnipotence  of  the  master.  When  the  slaves  grew 
old  they  were  sent  to  an  island  in  the  Tiber,  where 
the  sick  and  infirm  were  deserted, — left,  as  it  was 
said,  to  the  care  of  Esculapius.  Cato  the  elder 
said  to  a  friend,  "If  you  are  a  good  manager,  you 
will  sell  your  slave  and  your  horse  when  they  are 
old." 

The  number  of  slaves  held  by  the  rich  Romans 
was  very  great.  They  were  counted  by  the  hundred 
and  the  thousand.  Seneca  was  opposed  to  any  ex- 
ternal badges  being  borne  by  them  by  which  they 
might  be  designated,  lest,  perceiving  their  numbers 
and  strength,  they  might  rise  and  overpower  the  citi- 
zens. He  mentions  one  house  in  Rome  in  which 
there  were  four  hundred  slaves.  He  describes  De- 
metrius, a  freedman  of  Pompey,  and  richer  than  his 
master,  who  built  the  theater  which  went  under 
Pompey's  name,  as  receiving,  every  night,  like  the 
general  of  an  army,  an  account  of  the  effective  force 
of  his  slaves.  And  yet  they  lived  in  constant  terror 
of  assassination.  There  was  a  Roman  proverb, 
"So  many  slaves,  so  many  enemies."  True,  slaves 
guarded  their  doors  and  corridors  and  chambers,  but 
who  should  guard  them  against  their  guards  ?  The 
usual  resource  of  terror  is  cruelty,  and  it  was  most 
remorselessly  applied  toward  the  slaves.  If  a  master 
was  slain  by  a  slave,  the  law  provided  that  all  the 
slaves  of  the  household,  innocent  and  guilty,  should 
be  punished  with  death.  A  shocking  instance  of 
this  cruel  injustice  had  occurred  at  Rome  just  pre- 
vious to  Paul's  arrival.  It  had  startled  even  the 


218  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

imbruted  populace  of  Rome  by  its  unusual  horror, 
and  led  to  a  practical  modification  of  the  law.  A 
man  of  consular  dignity  was  slain  by  one  of  his 
slaves.  Four  hundred  slaves,  men,  women,  and 
children,  passed  along  in  mournful  procession  to 
execution.  The  Forum  was  agitated;  the  people 
were  roused  almost  into  a  revolt;  and  the  Senate 
House  was  besieged  for  mercy  while  the  weeping 
train  passed  on  to  death.  It  was  all  in  vain.  The 
law  took  its  course.  Four  hundred  innocent  persons 
perished  for  the  crime  of  one. 

That  which  added  to  the  horror  of  this  event  was 
the  vindication  of  it  which  was  made  in  the  Senate. 
Some  of  the  Senators  had  recoiled  before  the  exe- 
cution of  this  horrible  law  in  a  case  where  so  many 
persons  were  the  victims.  But  an  old  and  learned 
lawyer,  Cassius,  charged  with  the  task  of  resisting 
these  weak-minded  innovators  upon  the  sacred  cus- 
toms of  their  ancestors,  spoke  in  the  true  dialect  of 
all  advocates  of  prescriptive  wrongs.  "Shall  we 
seek  for  reasons  against  a  custom  which  our  ances- 
tors, wiser  than  we,  have  established  ?  Among  four 
hundred  slaves,  if  all  were  not  in  the  plot,  is  it  pos- 
sible that  not  one  suspected,  not  one  knew,  the  guilty 
one?  And  if  information  had  been  given  by  that 
one,  would  not  the  murder  have  been  prevented? 
But  you  say  that  many  innocent  persons  perish  with 
the  guilty.  That  is  true ;  but  when  an  army  is  found 
wanting  in  courage,  and  is  decimated,  both  brave 
men  and  cowards  incur  the  chances  of  the  lot.  There 
is  always  something  of  injustice  in  every  great  ex- 
ample, but  the  wrong  inflicted  upon  the  few  is  com- 
pensated by  the  advantage  of  the  many." 

Such  was  slavery  at  Rome  when  St.  Paul  wrote 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  219 

his  Epistles  from  that  city.  Its  condition  was  no 
better  in  Asia  Minor,  to  which  Philemon  and  Ones- 
imus  belonged.  It  is  just  as  certain  that  St.  Paul 
abhorred  the  system  as  that  he  hated  sin.  Thus  ab- 
horring it  he  might  have  pursued  toward  it  another 
course.  He  might  have  denounced  it  and  exhibited 
its  hideous  cruelty.  The  denunciation  would  have 
been  just.  He  might  have  shown  its  utter  incon- 
sistency with  the  precepts  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
His  demonstration  would  have  been  complete.  He 
might  have  forbidden  Christians  to  sustain  the  rela- 
tion. He  might  have  instructed  the  slave  that  he 
was  free  of  the  master,  and  the  master  that  he  had 
no  right  to  his  slave.  What  would  have  been  the 
result?  He  would  then  have  employed  the  church 
in  the  settlement  of  an  affair  of  the  state.  He 
would  have  placed  the  church  in  conflict  with  the 
state.  He  would  have  falsified  the  Saviour's  decla- 
ration that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world.  He 
would  have  brought  persecution  upon  the  church, 
destroyed  the  master,  and  not  benefited  the  slave. 

IV.  But  now  observe  the  divine  wisdom  of  the 
course  which  he  did  pursue.  He  gave  Christians 
such  precepts,  and  bade  them  pursue  such  a  course 
as  would  have  destroyed  the  main  evils  of  the  insti- 
tution while  it  continued  to  exist,  and  would  have 
led  to  its  speedy  extinction.  If  Christians  should  have 
acted  upon  St.  Paul's  exhortations,  then  the  institu- 
tion, in  all  its  essential  peculiarities,  would  have  been 
destroyed.  When  masters  were  told  to  remember  that 
they  should  be  such  masters  to  their  servants  as  God 
was  to  them,  when  they  were  bidden  to  give  to  them 
that  which  was  just  and  equal,  it  is  evident  that  the 
whole  system  of  slavery  would  be  destroyed  in  all 


220  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

its  essential  features  by  the  practice  of  that  simple 
principle.  For  the  system  was  in  its  nature,  and  by 
its  very  definition,  unjust  and  unequal.  The  slave 
was  not  a  man ;  his  feelings  were  not  to  be  regarded ; 
he  had  no  rights  to  himself,  his  wife,  or  children ;  he 
might  be  overtasked,  beaten,  and  killed,  at  pleasure. 
Now  to  give  him  what  was  just  and  equal  would  be 
to  treat  him  as  a  man,  to  render  for  his  services  the 
same  return  that  he  would  to  any  other  man,  to  re- 
gard his  feelings,  to  admit  his  rights  to  his  wife  and 
children,  to  punish  him  only  for  what  was  wrong, 
and  in  the  measure  proportioned  to  his  wrong-doing. 
To  have  treated  him  in  this  manner  would  have  been 
to  have  destroyed  all  that  was  peculiar  in  practice  in 
the  institution  'of  slavery,  and  to  have  left  only  its 
name  and  its  legal  tenure  of  property  in  the  slave. 
To  have  acted  in  this  manner  would  have  led 
Christians  to  perceive  that  the  doing  of  that  which 
was  just  and  equal  to  the  slave  would  inevitably 
lead  to  the  duty  of  bestowing  upon  him  freedom. 
This  was  in  fact  the  logic  and  this  the  practice  of 
the  early  Christians. 

The  practical  operation  of  this  principle  is  seen 
clearly  in  the  case  of  Onesimus.  St.  Paul  sent  him 
back  with  the  implied  admission  of  Philemon's 
legal  claims  to  his  services  as  a  slave.  Yet  he  ex- 
horts him  to  regard  him  no  longer  as  a  servant,  but 
above  a  servant,  as  a  brother  in  the  Lord.  A  brother 
in  the  Lord!  Then  he  was  bound  to  give  as  much 
as  he  received.  It  was  not  possible  for  him  at  the 
same  time  to  treat  him  as  a  Christian  brother  and  a 
slave.  It  is  not  to  treat  one  as  a  Christian  brother 
to  hold  him  as  property,  to  deprive  him  of  freedom, 
and  to  exact  labor  from  him  without  compensation. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  221 

The  man  who  treats  another  as  a  slave  would  not 
believe  that  he  was  treated  like  a  Christian  brother 
if  he  was  subjected  to  that  condition.  St.  Paul  re- 
quests Philemon  to  receive  and  treat  Onesimus  as 
his  own  flesh,  his  own  son.  Now  surely  the  Apostle 
would  not  have  wished  his  own  flesh,  his  own  son,  to 
be  used  and  treated  as  a  slave;  nor  would  he  have 
felt  that  he  had  acceded  to  his  request  if  he  had  still 
kept  Onesimus  in  bondage.  And  again,  St.  Paul 
begs  Philemon  to  receive  Onesimus  as  himself. 
Surely  he  would  not  wish  or  expect  himself  to  be 
received  and  treated  as  a  slave  by  his  Christian 
friend  and  brother.  These  expressions  make  it 
perfectly  evident  that  nothing  was  further  from  the 
intention  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  sent  Onesimus  to  his 
master,  than  to  remand  him  to  bondage. 

It  is  indeed  impossible  for  a  master  to  regard  his 
slave  as  a  Christian  brother.  The  two  relations  are 
contradictory,  the  one  to  the  other.  Brotherhood 
implies  equality  of  nature  and  of  rights.  Master- 
ship implies  inequality  of  one  or  both.  Hence  one 
cannot  at  the  same  time  consider  himself  as  a  mas- 
ter and  a  brother,  and  look  upon  another  as  at  once 
his  brother  and  his  property. 

And  here  let  me  add  that  these  principles  were 
practically  applied,  and  produced  their  legitimate 
results  in  Home  and  in  other  portions  of  the  world. 
Says  the  author  of  Christian  Rome,  "  Soon,  only  a 
hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ,  a  prefect  of 
Rome,  Hermes,  freed  1250  slaves  on  the  day  of  his 
conversion.  Under  Diocletian,  another  prefect  of 
the  great  city,  Cromacus,  gave  liberty  to  1400  slaves, 
who  received  baptism  with  him.  '  Those  who  have 
become  the  children  of  God,'  he  cried,  'ought  not  to 

28 


222  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

be  the  slaves  of  a  man.' "  The  same  thought,  it  will 
also  be  remembered,  had  already  been  in  the  heart 
of  the  virgins  Praxedes  and  Prudentiana,  who  eman- 
cipated their  slaves.  The  Pagans  smiled  in  pity. 
They  reproached  the  Christians  with  admitting  into 
their  number  abject  and  ignoble  souls.  "Have  you 
not  among  you,"  they  demanded,  "the  rich  and 
poor,  the  master  and  the  slave?"  "No,"  replied 
Lactantius,  "it  is  because  we  believe  all  are  equal, 
that  we  employ  the  word  ''brethren.'  Though  there 
be  a  diversity  of  conditions  among  us,  there  is  at  least 
no  place  for  slaves;  and  religiously  we  are  all  the 
servants  of  God." 

The  thought  may  have  occurred  to  the  minds  of 
my  readers,  "If  St.  Paul  did  not  directly  attack 
slavery,  is  it  right  for  you  to  enter  upon  this  exposi- 
tion, and  to  express  the  condemnation  which  he 
withheld?"  The  same  thought  has  occurred  many 
times  to  myself.  But  observe  this  distinction.  St. 
Paul  would  not  employ  the  -church  as  the  direct 
agent  in  beating  down  slavery.  Nor  \vould  I.  But 
the  Apostle  adopted  a  certain  principle  in  dealing 
with  this  question.  I  would  understand  and  explain 
this  principle.  St.  Paul  uttered  certain  exhortations 
to  masters  and  slaves.  I  would  study  them  and  en- 
deavor to  comprehend  their  real  purport  and  signifi- 
cance. This  is  what  I  have  attempted.  It  is  an 
interpretation  ef  Scripture  which  I  consider,  criticise, 
and  condemn.  It  has  been — as  I  believe  errone- 
ously— explained  to  sustain  slavery.  I  would  show 
that  it  condemns  slavery  as  a  moral  relation  between 
Christians,  and  between  man  and  man.  I  find  that 
St.  Paul  announced  principles  which,  if  they  were 
carried  out,  would  certainly  overthrow  slavery;  but 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  223 

that  he  refrained  from  applying  them  directly  to  that 
institution  at  a  time  when  such  an  application  would 
have  convulsed  the  state,  have  led  to  a  persecution 
of  the  church,  and  have  made  the  condition  of  the 
slave  still  more  deplorable.  In  like  manner,  in 
similar  circumstances,  before  the  rebellion,  when  the 
agitation  of  this  subject  tended  to  convulse  the  States, 
and  rend  the  churches,  and  make  the  condition  of  the 
slaves  worse  than  before,  I  refrained,  together  with 
most  of  my  brethren  of  the  church  to  which  I  be- 
long, from  making  a  direct  application  of  these 
principles  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  as  it  exists  in 
our  country.  But  now  I  feel  that  I  act,  and  that  the 
honored  fathers  and  presbyters  of  the  church  act, 
precisely  in  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul,  when*  we  make  a 
direct  application  of  these  principles  against  slavery 
in  our  land;  because  the  admission  and  the  practice 
of  these  principles  are  the  only  means  which  can 
now  give  peace  to  a  convulsed  country,  and  har- 
mony to  divided  churches;  and  because  the  word 
now  uttered  in  behalf  of  the  poor  slave  is  not  a  blow 
to  rivet,  but  a  blow  to  break  his  fetters.  That  which 
it  was  a  duty  to  abstain  from  doing  before  the  rebel- 
lion, it  has  now  become  a  duty  to  do. 

V.  It  is  impossible  that  the  consideration  of  this 
subject  should  not  have  turned  our  thoughts  to  the 
system  of  slavery  as  it  exists  in  the  United  States. 
In  one  respect  I  think  it  is  much  worse  than  Roman 
slavery;  and  that  is  in  the  subjection  and  degrada- 
tion of  a  whole  race.  There  were  slaves  of  many 
nationalities  and  many  complexions  among  the  Ro- 
mans; but  no  one  nation  or  race  was  set  apart  as  a 
lower  species  of  the  human  family,  as  a  slave  race, 
fitted  by  their  constitution  for  no  other  position. 


224  ST.  PAUL    IN    EOME. 

In  that  which  constitutes  the  pecidium  of  slavery, 
viz.,  the  possession  of  man  as  property,  to  be  "bought 
and  sold  as  an  animated  tool,  without  the  right  of 
possessing  his  faculties,  himself,  his  wife,  or  his  chil- 
dren, the  two  systems  were  essentially  the  same. 
And  though  much  of  "the  legislation  of  the  slave 
States  is  cruel  in  the  extreme,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  law  affords  them  a  protection  greater  than 
that  which  they  enjoyed  under  the  Roman  system; 
and  that  the  same  absolute  right  over  the  life  of  the 
slave  is  not  recognized  by  law,  however  it  may  some- 
times be  practically  exercised  with  impunity.  Yet, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that  slaves 
among  Greeks  and  Romans  had  opportunities  to 
rise  to  positions  of  trust  and  favor,  and  even  of 
honor  in  their  masters'  households,  such  as  are  not 
enjoyed  under  our  system.  There  were  slaves  with 
every  degree  of  culture.  Mechanics,  accountants, 
stewards,  musicians,  artists,  scholars,  teachers,  and 
poets  were  found  among  them.  There  were  no 
laws,  as  with  us,  against  their  instruction.  Each 
master  was  at  liberty  to  train  his  servants  according 
to  his  will.  He  was  the  gainer  by  their  accomplish- 
ments, and  it  was  both  a  matter  of  pride  and  profit 
with  him  to  develop  their  peculiar  powers.  In  com- 
paring the  two  systems,  I  think  it  may  justly  be  con- 
cluded that  their  revolting  features,  though  not  pre- 
cisely the  same,  were  about  equal ;  but  that  in  their 
practical  administration,  the  spirit  of  Christian  char- 
ity, and  the  general  sense  of  justice  and  humanity 
which  it  has  diffused,  has  prevented  to  a  large  ex- 
tent the  practice,  and  to  a  still  greater  degree  the 
toleration  and  approval  of  atrocious  personal  wrongs 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.      .  225 

and  cruelties  among  us  which  would  have  passed 
without  comment  among  the  Romans. 

On  the  practical  working  of  our  system  of  slavery 
there  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion.  Heated  feel- 
ing has  led  to  extreme  representations  of  its  evil  and 
its  good.  On  the  one  side,  slavery  is  described  as  ad- 
ministered in  a  mild,  paternal,  and  Christian  spirit, 
which  counteracts  in  practice  the  evil  of  its  theory ;  it 
is  claimed  that  it  proves  to  be  the  best  and  kindest  ar- 
rangement which  can  be  made  for  the  colored  race; 
and  that  cases  of  cruelty  and  hardship  are  rare  excep- 
tions. On  the  other  side,  it  is  contended  that,  sepa- 
rate from  the  perpetual  cruelty  of  placing  persons  in 
the  relation  of  being  owned  by  others,  constant  cru- 
elties are  necessitated  by  that  relation,  and  that  what 
would  be  considered  harshness  and  cruelty  toward 
free  servants  is  not  so  regarded  when  exercised  to- 
ward slaves;  and  that  when  kindness  is  felt  and  at- 
tempted to  be  exercised  in  rare  and  exceptional 
cases,  it  is  not,  and  cannot  be  so  effective  as  to  seem 
like  kindness  so  long  as  the  relation  is  sustained. 
Opinions  are  formed  upon  such  subjects  by  the  facts 
which  are  before  the  mind;  and  as  one's  position  or 
prejudice  places  one  set  of  facts  exclusively  or  more 
prominently  before  the  view,  he  will  be  likely  to 
form  one  or  other  of  the  above  opinions.  It  would 
be  in  vain  for  me  here  to  attempt  to  discuss  this  im- 
mense question.  I  can  only  give  the  results  of  the 
working  of  my  own  mind  on  the  subject. 

When  I  went  into  the  midst  of  a  slaveholding 
community,  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  it  was  with 
a  feeling  of  strong  moral  reprobation  of  slavery,  and 
with  a  deep  conviction  of  its  actual  enormities  and 
horrors.  Living  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  learning  to 


226  ST.  PAUL  IN  ROME. 

respect  and  love  the  high  and  genial  character  of 
many  slaveholders;  observing  their  personal  kind- 
ness to  their  slaves;  seeing  the  comfort  which  many 
of  them  enjoyed;  knowing  the  institution  only 
where  it  was  presented  in  its  more  favorable  aspects, 
I  at  first  concluded  that  the  system  was  less  evil  in 
its  practical  working  than  I  had  supposed,  while  I 
still  felt  as  strongly  as  before  its  inconsistency  with 
natural  justice,  and  with  the  spirit  and  precepts  of 
the  Gospel.  A  longer  residence,  and  a  more  ex- 
tended observation,  and  a  closer  study  of  the  evil 
effects  of  slaveholding  on  personal  character,  render- 
ing it  willful  and  imperious ;  a  revelation  of  the  inevi- 
table hardships  and  cruelties  arising  from  the  system 
itself,  even  in  kind  and  Christian  families,  and  which 
no  personal  kindness  could  prevent;  a  knowledge 
of  the  smothered  animosities  in  the  hearts  of  ser- 
vants which  it  often  produces,  and  of  the  consequent 
state  of  suspicion  and  vague  terror,  which  always  en- 
genders cruelty,  which  it  awakens;  an  observation 
of  the  fact  that  the  standard  of  justice  and  kind- 
ness was  lowered  in  relation  to  the  colored  race,  and 
that  consequently  that  treatment  was  considered  kind 
to  a  slave  which  no  free-born  servant  would  have 
been  expected  to  submit  to;  an  initiation  into  the 
more  inner  workings  of  the  system  in  families, 
and  of  the  frequent  half-recognized  concubinage,  or 
worse  temporary  connections,  between  the  masters 
and  the  masters'  sons  and  female  slaves ;  the  knowl- 
edge of  some  horrible  cases  of  the  sale  of  their  own 
flesh  and  blood,  on  the  part  of  men  who  still  retained 
a  position  in  the  community  where  the  facts  were 
well  known  or  generally  believed, — all  these  facts 
led  me  to  a  more  profound  conviction  of  the  in- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  227 

herent  and  incurable  evils  of  our  system  of  slavery 
than  my  first  vague  and  less-informed  impressions 
had  produced. 

But  whatever  convictions  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  system  may  have  produced  on  different  minds, 
there  are  certain  evils  which  all  must  and  do  admit 
to  exist,  which  are  so  great  and  so  immediately  the 
result  of  the  system,  and  so  without  remedy  while 
the  evil  exists,  that  it  seems  singular  that  so  many 
good  and  kind  and  pious  persons  can  uphold  the  in- 
stitution. Admit  all  that  the  evidence  allows  of 
the  kindness  of  masters  and  mistresses, — and  the 
amount  of  this  kindness  is  very  great;  admit  all  the 
religious  influence  that  has  been  exerted  over  the 
slaves, — and  it  is  very  large ;  admit  the  claim  that 
multitudes  of  them  are  far  better  off  and  more  ad- 
vanced than  their  savage  brethren  in  Africa — and 
the  fact  is  undoubted, — and  yet  it  remains  true  that 
Christian  men  buy  and  sell  their  fellow-men,  as  if 
they  were  merchandise  or  cattle ;  that  they  separate 
husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children ;  that  the 
laws  of  inheritance  and  the  pressure  of  financial 
difficulty  often  force  the  cruel  sale  and  separation 
of  closely  related  slaves,  and  consign  those  who 
have  hitherto  been  treated  well  to  a  fearful  fate,  and 
that  numerous  cases  of  horrible  cruelty  go  mi- 
whipped  of  justice.  It  is  still  all  too  true  that  cruel, 
licentious,  abandoned  men,  the  worst  which  a  com- 
munity possesses,  have  a  right  to  hold  as  property,  and 
therefore  to  wield  an  absolute  irresponsible  power  over  just 
so  many  men,  women,  and  children  as  they  can  buy  !  This 
last  fact  is  alone  sufficient  utterly  to  condemn  the 
system  as  inhuman  and  unworthy  of  a  civilized  and 
Christian  nation.  It  is  still  true  that  the  laws  forbid 


228  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

that  slaves  should  be  taught  to  read.  Add  to  this 
the  fact  that  the  laws  make  it  impossible  for  good 
aud  kind  masters  to  carry  out  such  purposes  of 
benevolence  as  may  be  in  their  hearts.  A  Roman 
master  could  do  all  the  kindness  to  a  slave  that  he 
desired.  He  could  instruct  him,  educate  him,  eman- 
cipate him,  set  him  up  in  the  world;  and  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  rise,  as  many  did  rise,  to  the  best 
positions  in  society,  and  the  highest  offices  of  the 
State.  Our  system  forbids  a  master,  under  severe 
penalties,  to  teach  his  slaves.  In  many  States  he 
cannot  manumit  them,  except  upon  conditions  which 
are  almost  impossible  to  be  fulfilled,  and  which 
would  leave  a  freed  slave  in  a  position  worse 
than  that  of  bondage.  No  career  is  opened  to  the 
freedman.  Citizenship  is  denied  him.  Law,  and 
public  opinion  more  exigeant  and  cruel  than  law, 
watches  and  visits  with  its  wrath  the  slaveowner 
who  should  attempt  any  other  kindness  to  him 
than  that  of  promoting  his  physical  well-being, 
and  of  furnishing  him  with  some  oral  religious 
instructions. 

I  think  this  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  very  tem- 
perate statement  of  the  evils  of  our  system.  If  it 
is  just,  then  no  possible  alleviations  and  advantages 
which  it  may  possess  are  sufficient  to  counterbal- 
ance its  enormous  wrongs.  Its  relations  to  the  Gos- 
pel must  be  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  Roman 
and  Grecian  slavery.  St.  Paul's  exhortations  to 
masters  and  slaves,  while  the  system  subsists,  are  as 
applicable  to  the  one  as  to  the  other.  If  the  master 
should  render  to  the  servant  that  which  is  just  and 
equal,  if  he  should  treat  his  slave  as  a  brother  be- 
loved, the  whole  system  would  be  undermined  and 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  229 

eventually  destroyed.  But  unhappily  the  law,  and  a 
cruel  and  denunciatory  opinion  worse  than  law,  will 
not  permit  him,  as  it  would  have  permitted  the  Ro- 
man master,  to  carry  out  in  their  spirit  and  in  their 
fullness  those  just  injunctions.  It  must  he  admitted 
to  he  a  singular  and  mortifying  anomaly,  that  in  a 
Christian  land  a  system  of  slavery  should  exist, 
which,  if  not  quite  so  evil  in  some  of  its  features  as 
that  which  prevailed  among  the  hard  and  coarse- 
grained Romans,  is  yet  more  tightly  riveted  upon  its 
victims,  and  less  capable  of  amelioration. 

VI.  In  the  light  of  these  principles  evolved  from 
the  words  and  the  example  of  St.  Paul,  we  are  ahle 
to  discern  some  of  the  mistaken  extremes*which  have 
prevailed  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in  our  day. 

1.  It  has  not  only  been  vindicated  as  right  in  it- 
self, but  it  has  been  claimed  that  it  has  a  divine  sanc- 
tion; it  has  been  elevated  into  a  divine  institution 
on  the  authority  of  St.  Paul.     We  have  shown  how 
this  mistake  has  arisen  from  supposing  that  when  St. 
Paul  urges  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  a 
certain  relation  while  it  exists,  he  necessarily  ap- 
proves of  the  relation  itself,  and  sanctions  its  estab- 
lishment and  continuance. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  others  have  contended  that  it 
is  wrong  ever,  under  any  circumstances,  to  sustain  the 
relation  of  master  to  a  slave.     St.  Paul  evidently  did 
not  so  regard  it.   He  did  not  assume  this  ground  with 
Philemon.  In  the  case  of  a  Christian  husband  or  wife, 
connected  with  a  heathen  wife  or  husband,  he  sanc- 
tioned the  principle  that  it  may  be  right,  and  even  a 
duty,  to  remain  in  and  discharge  the  duties  of  a  re- 
lation which  it  would  have  been  unrighteous  to  have 
originated. 


230  ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME. 

3.  Hence  also  it  is  a  mistake  and  wrong  to  de- 
nounce all  persons  who  hold  slaves,  as  thereby  shown 
to  be  evidently  inhuman  men,  and  as  consciously  up- 
holding a  system  of  cruel  wrong  and  oppression. 
One  who  has  long  known  and  lived  among  them 
cannot  but  deeply  feel  the  injustice  of  such  a  judg- 
ment. He  will  remember  some  of  the  most  excel- 
lent and  exemplary  Christians  he  has  ever  known 
among  this  class.  He  will  recall  instances  of  the 
most  painstaking  and  self-denying  labors  for  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  good  of  those  committed  to 
their  care.  He  will  be  able  to  mention  the  consci- 
entious convictions  of  duty  which  have  prevented 
some  persofts  from  freeing  slaves,  who  would  gladly 
have  avoided  the  care  and  responsibility  of  them  by 
this  pecuniary  sacrifice  if  they  had  considered  such 
a  course  lawful.  He  will  see  that  such  persons  do 
not  differ  in  Christian  principles,  or  even  Christian 
practice,  from  those  good  Christians  who  mistakenly 
denounce  them ;  but  only  differ  as  to  the  case  which  is 
actually  presented  to  them.  If  by  upholding  slavery 
and  holding  slaves  they  thought  that  they  were  rob- 
bing men  of  their  rights,  keeping  them  in  igno- 
rance, perpetuating  their  degradation,  and  prevent- 
ing their  advancement,  they  too  would  oppose  the 
institution  and  emancipate  their  slaves.  But  this  is 
not  the  case  as  it  is  presented  to  them.  They  think 
that  they  are  taking  care  of  a  race  who  cannot  take 
care  of  themselves;  that  it  is  a  kindness  to  force 
them  to  labor,  inasmuch  as  it  is  better  for  their 
health  and  morals  and  advancement,  than  the  vi- 
cious idleness  into  which  they  would  else  inevitably 
lapse ;  that  thus  they  can  be  advanced  in  morals  and 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  231 

intelligence  and  religion  as  fast  as  they  are  capable 
of  advancing;  and  that  their  sufferings  in  servitude, 
some  of  which  indeed  are  in  consequence  of  hard 
laws,  which  they  personally  would  desire  to  have 
removed,  are  not  to  he  compared  to  those  which 
would  result  from  freedom.  Such  is  the  case  which 
is  presented  to  their  minds.  One  may  think  that  they 
are  exceedingly  mistaken  in  this  view.  One  may 
suspect  that  they  have  been  led  to  adopt  it  by  influ- 
ences of  interest  or  of  passion  of  which  they  are 
wholly  unconscious.  One  may  be  surprised  and 
grieved  at  the  degree  of  indignation  and  animosity 
which  they  feel  against  those  who  wholly  dissent 
from  them,  and  yet  one  may  admit,  and  feel  con- 
strained to  admit,  and  ought  to  be  ready  cheerfully 
to  admit,  and  if  he  has  associated  much  among  this 
class,  feels  bound  emphatically  to  testify  that  among 
them  are  persons  of  the  most  saintly  and  lovely 
character.  As  one  of  those  who  disapprove  and 
would  have  removed  the  institution  to  which  they 
cling,  I  have  been  subject  to  many  hard  speeches 
and  bitter  feelings  among  Southern  brethren  with 
whom  I  once  held  sweet  counsel,  and  walked  to- 
gether in  the  House  of  God  as  friends;  but  I  re- 
member their  friendship  with  gratitude;  I  mourn 
over  the  delusions  of  feeling  and  opinion  which 
have  urged  them  into  most  unpardonable  and 
causeless  rebellion ;  I  sympathize  with  the  dreadful 
sufferings  which  they  have  brought  upon  them- 
selves, and  lament  the  humiliation  to  which  as  a 
subjugated  people  they  have  become,  or  will  soon 
become,  exposed ;  and  with  all  these  feelings  blend- 
ing into  one  emotion  of  sorrowful  regret,  I  feel  that 


232  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.. 

however  they  may  speak  of  me  and  of  my  brethren 
who  have  felt  and  acted  with  me,  it  is  alike  a  pleas- 
ure and  a^luty  to  speak  thus  of  many  among  them. 
4.  And  it  is  an  equal  mistake,  and  less  excusable, 
and  one  which  rests  on  grounds  less  plausible,  to 
denounce  the  friends  and  advocates  of  emancipation 
as  enemies  of  a  divinely  constituted  society,  and  to 
affix  to  them  opprobrious  epithets,  and  cast  out  their 
name  as  evil.  That  a  Bishop  of  our  Church,  with 
all  the  lights  thrown  upon  this  subject  by  recent 
events,  should  commit  himself  to  such  statements  is 
a  singular  and  mortifying  event.*  It  is  indeed  a 
strange  anomaly  that  in  a  State,  constituted  upon  the 
Gospel  principle  of  human  brotherhood  and  equal- 
ity, they,  whose  only  error  it  is  admitted  has  been 
the  too  rigid  application  of  a  right  principle  without 
a  sufficient  reference  to  practical  and  complicated 
difficulties,  in  the  midst  of  which, 

"Right  too  rigid  hardens  into  wrong," 

should  be  denounced  as  pre-eminently  guilty.  The 
treatment  of  abolitionists  at  the  -North  has  been  a 
disgrace  upon  our  country;  and  has  been  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  all  the  harm  that  has  come  from  their 
existence.  That  they  have  not  been  wise  is  no  suffi- 
cient reason  that  they  should  have  been  treated  as  if 
they  were  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  It  will  read  strangely 
in  future  history,  that  in  a  republican  State,  the  first 
sentence  of  whose  proclamation  of  independent  ex- 
istence is  but  another  form  of  the  Scripture  truth,  that 
God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations,  there  was 


Bishop  Hopkins,  of  Vermont, 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  233 

a  period  when  to  advocate  the  continued  existence 
of  a  system  of  slavery,  far  worse  than  that  of  Tunis 
or  Algiers,  without  any  improvement  or  any  provi- 
sion for  its  ultimate  removal,  was  to  be  among  the 
vast  majority  that  were  regarded  as  conservative  of 
right  and  just  principles;  and  to  plead  earnestly  for 
its  immediate  removal  was  to  he  among  a  despised 
minority,  which  was  regarded  as  vile,  and  cruel,  and 
unjust.  I  am  thankful  to  rememher  that,  although 
I  felt  their  schemes  were  not  wrise,  I  never  gave  in 
to  this  unrighteous  clamor  against  their  character. 
I  knew  that  among  them  were  some  of  the  purest 
Christians  of  our  time;  and  that  among  those  who 
were  infidel  and  radical,  were  many  of  those  noble 
natures  whom  the  world's  wrong  drives  to  disbelief, 
and  maddens  into  a  blind  and  unwise  indignation, 
but  who  are  in  the  basis  of  their  character  far  higher 
than  many  who,  with  the  name  of  Christian,  are  the 
narrow,  and  mean,  and  selfish  advocates  of  all  pre- 
scriptive and  profitable  wrongs.  Some  of  the  best 
men  of  the  free  States  have  been  denouncing  as  un- 
christian and  inhuman  some  of  the  best  men  of  the 
slave  States;  and  they  have  hurled  back  these  de- 
nunciations with  an  equal  conviction  of  their  truth, 
and  an  added  turning  sense  of  outrage  and  indigna- 
tion. Both  of  these  classes  are  beginning  to  find 
that  they  wrere  both  and  equally  mistaken. 

5.  In  this  matter  we  all  have  grievously  erred  and 
sinned,  and  God  is  scourging  us  for  our  sins,  and  at 
the  same  time  removing  the  evil  that  has  clouded 
our  judgments  and  kindled  asperities  of  feeling. 
There  were  those  who  did  not  believe  it  wise  or 
Christian,  both  on  grounds  of  Christian  obligation 


234  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

and  on  St.  Paul's  principles  of  procedure,  to  labor 
for  the  immediate  emancipation  of  slavery  in  the 
Southern  States.  They  hoped  and  prayed  that  it 
would  he  ultimately  accomplished  through  the  action 
of  Christian  feeling  in  the  communities  where  slav- 
ery existed.  In  this  position  I  think  they  were  right. 
Having  myself  occupied  it,  I  do  not  now  see  or  feel 
that  I  was  wrong.  But  in  so  far  as  the  taking  of 
this  position  led  any  of  us  to  extenuate  the  evils  of 
slavery,  to  shut  our  eyes  to  its  manifold  ahomina- 
tioris,  to  vindicate  it  on  moral  or  religious  grounds, 
and  to  denounce  all  strong  sympathy  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  slaves,  I  think  we  were  clearly  in  the 
wrong.  Those  who  advocated  immediate  emanci- 
pation, irrespective  of  constitutional  obligations  and 
of  all  the  deplorable  consequences  which  might 
ensue,  were,  I  think,  unwise  and  in  the  wrong,  and 
in  conflict  with  the  "peaceable  wisdom"  of  St.  Paul. 
They  were  no  less  wrong  in  the  bitter  denunciations 
with  which  many  of  them  assailed  those  who  advo- 
cated the  policy  of  peace  and  patience.  But  they 
were  right,  as  all  our  subsequent  history  has  shown, 
in  their  vivid  representations  of  the  sins  and  cruelties 
and  shames  of  slavery. 

Of  the  state  of  feeling  and  thinking  on  this  sub- 
ject in  the  Southern  States  I  do  not  wish  to  speak. 
It  is  a  time  when  every  instinct  of  magnanimity  and 
Christian  sympathy  for  their  sufferings,  the  conse- 
quences of  their  mistakes,  and  admiration  for  their 
heroic  energy,  should  lead  us  to  dwell  rather  on  our 
own  sins  than  on  theirs.  God  is  making  the  wrath 
and  sin  and  folly  of  us  all  to  praise  Him.  He  is  ex- 
orcising the  evil  spirit  which  has  hitherto  possessed 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. U  HI  V  E  Big  I  T  "X 


our  body  politic,  and  the  convulsions 
fers  are  but  from  the  struggles  of  the  Teluctant 
demon  to  retain  his  place.  God  is  bringing  all 
classes,  in  every  portion  of  our  country,  to  relin- 
quish some  of  the  errors  of  prejudice  and  opinion 
which  they  have  hitherto  entertained,  and  to  unite 
in  what  promises  to  be  the  well-nigh  universal  con- 
viction that  as  slavery  has  been  our  sin  and  has 
found  us  out,  so  repentance  for  it  should  lead  to  the 
works  meet  for  repentance  in  the  elevation  and  the 
investment  with  the  rights  of  manhood  and  of  citi- 
zenship of  the  race  that  has  been  so  unjustly  held  in 
bondage.  My  profound  conviction  is  that  in  twenty 
years  there  will  be  no  one  in  all  the  breadth  of  our 
restored  and  purified  Union  to  rise  up  as  a  public 
advocate  or  apologist  of  slavery.  The  amiable  and 
gifted  Mr.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  proclaimed  slavery 
to  be  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  confederation,  but 
it  is  a  corner-stone  on  which  no  superstructure  can 
rest,  for  it  is  upheld  by  a  revolutionary  earthquake 
which  will  cast  it  crushingly  on  the  structure  it  was 
expected  to  support. 

If  this  attempt  to  expound  St.  Paul's  relation  to 
established  institutions,  and  especially  to  slavery, 
and  to  apply  his  principles  to  slavery  in  our  own 
country,  is  not  successful,  it  is  not  because  I  have 
not  sincerely  and  earnestly  desired  to  give  it  a  dis- 
passionate consideration,  and  to  apply  to  it  the  result 
of  many  years  of  the  most  anxious  thought,  and  of 
careful  and  widely-extended  observation.  One  im- 
portant lesson  we  should  all  learn  from  this  consid- 
eration of  this  difficult  subject.  It  is,  that  inasmuch 
as  most  of  the  practical  duties  of  life  and  of  society 


236  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

lie  not  among  the  distinctly-marked  right  and  wrong 
of  things,  but  rather  among  mixed  and  blending 
rights  and  wrongs,  the  most  'conscientious  mind, 
still  subject  to  the  infirmities  of  our  poor  fallen 
nature,  may  through  unconscious  bias  greatly  err, 
and  still  retain  high  moral  integrity  and  a  genuine 
Christian  spirit.  This  great  lesson  of  charity  I  have 
earnestly  endeavored  to  apply  to  others,  and  con- 
scious of  my  equal  need  of  it,  I  invoke  it  for  my- 
self. 


LECTUEE  XL 

ST.  PAUL'S   SECOND   IMPRISONMENT   AT  ROME. 

For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at 
hand.— 2  TIM.  iv.  6. 

THE  history  of  St.  Paul  subsequent  to  the  last 
record  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  exceedingly 
ohscure.  We  have  hitherto  moved  with  confidence 
in  the  open  and  well-lighted  path  of  authentic  his- 
tory. We  are  now  to  grope  and  wind  our  way 
through  historical  probabilities  and  deductions  by 
the  aid  of  scattered  and  feeble  rays  of  testimony. 

We  conclude  that  St.  Paul  was  liberated  from  his 
imprisonment  at  Rome  from  a  passage  in  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews.  He  was  then  in  Italy  or  at  lib- 
erty, for  he  writes,  "they  of  Italy  salute  you;"  and  he 
says  of  Timothy,  "Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timo- 
thy is  set  at  liberty,  with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly, 
I  will  see  you."  This  Epistle  was  written  subse- 
quent to  St.  Paul's  two  years'  imprisonment.  He 
was  then  in  Italy,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  visit  the 
Hebrews,  to  w-hom  he  writes,  in  company  with  lib- 
erated Timothy.  This  seems  to  be  a  clear  proof  that 
St.  Paul's  trial  had  either  resulted  in  his  acquittal  or 
had  been  abandoned. 

The  strongest  proof,  perhaps,  which  we  possess 
that  St.  Paul  had  been  tried  and  acquitted,  is  the 
universal  belief  that  it  was  so  which  prevailed  in 

30  (  237  ) 


238  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

the  ancient  church.  The  proofs  of  the  fact,  as  they 
come  to  us,  are  few  and  indirect.  They  may  have 
been  explicit  and  numerous  to  the  early  church. 
Few  as  they  are,  there  appears  to  be  no  counter  tes- 
timonies. Clement,  the  disciple  of  St.  Paul,  and 
afterward  Bishop  of  Rome,  writing  from  Rome  to 
Corinth,  asserts  that  St.  Paul  had  preached  the  Gos- 
pel in  the  East  and  in  the  West;  that  he  had  in- 
structed the  whole  world  in  righteousness ;  and  that 
he  had  gone  to  the  extremity  of  the  West  before  his 
martyrdom.  ~Now  as  we  know  that  St.  Paul  had  not 
visited  the  West  previous  to  his  imprisonment  at 
Rome,  it  must  have  been  after  his  release. 

There  exists  a  Canon  of  the  New  Testament 
called  Muratoris  Canon,  compiled  by  an  unknown 
author  about  the  year  A.  D.  170.  In  this  document, 
it  is  said,  in  the  account  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, that  "Luke  relates  to  Theophilus  events  of 
which  he  was  an  eye-witness,  as  also  in  a  separate 
place  he  evidently  declares  the  martyrdom  of  Peter, 
but  omits  the  journey  of  Paul  to  Spain."  The  wri- 
ter refers,  we  suppose,  by  the  expression  "  in  a  sep- 
arate place,"  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke.  In  that 
Gospel  there  is  no  account  of  the  martyrdom  of 
St.  Peter.  The  writer  may  have  regarded  the  Sa- 
viour's words,  "Simon,  Simon,  Satan  hath  desired 
to  have  you  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat;"  and 
Peter's  reply,  "I  am  ready  to  go  with  Thee  both 
into  prison  and  to  death,"  as  a  prophecy  of  his 
martyrdom,  and  may  therefore  have  called  it  an  ac- 
count of  his  martyrdom.  But,  however  this  may  be, 
his  assertion  is  distinct  to  the  visit  of  Paul  to  Spain. 

Eusebius  tells  us  that  after  defending  himself  suc- 
cessfully, it  is  currently  reported  that  the  Apostle 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  239 

again  went  forth  to  proclaim  the  Gospel,  and  after- 
ward came  to  Rome  a  second  time,  and  was  mar- 
tyred under  Nero.  Chrysostom  mentions  it  as  an 
undoubted  fact  "that  St.  Paul,  after  his  residence  in 
Rome,  departed  to  Spain."  St.  Jerome  also  testifies 
"that  Paul  was  dismissed  -by  Nero,  that  he  might 
preach  Christ's  Gospel  in  the  West."* 

The  argument  thus  far  goes  to  prove  that  St.  Paul 
left  Rome,  and  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  West,  and 
especially  in  Spain. 

The  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  called  the 
Pastoral  Epistles,  are  usually  believed  to  have  been 
written  after  his  first  imprisonment  at  Rome.  Their 
date,  in  the  received  translation  of  the  Bible,  is 
placed  beyond  this  period.  We  find  from  these 
Epistles  that  after  his  first  imprisonment  at  Rome 
he  was  traveling  and  at  liberty  at  Ephesus,  (1  Tim. 
i.  3,)  Crete,  (Titus,  i.  6,)  Macedonia,  (1  Tim.  i.  3,) 
Miletus,  (2  Tim.  iv.  30,)  and  Nicopolis,  (Titus,  iii.  12,) 
and  that  he  was  again,  for  the  second  time,  a  pris- 
oner at  Rome,  These  facts  concerning  his  jour- 
neys and  his  history,  are  all  that  can  be  collected 
from  the  sacred  canons. 

The  internal  evidences  that  the  second  Epistle 
could  not  have  been  written  during  St.  Paul's  first 
imprisonment  at  Rome,  but  that  it  is  to  be  referred 
to  a  subsequent  imprisonment,  are  quite  clear  and 
strong.  They  have  been  well  stated  in  Barnes's 
Notes.  I  can  but  briefly  refer  to  some  of  them. 
St.  Paul  evidently  expected,  in  his  Epistles  to  the 
Philippians  and  to  Philemon,  a  speedy  release  and 
departure  from  Rome.  "I  trust  in  the  Lord  I  shall 


*  These  authorities  are  derived  from  Conybeare  and  Howson's 
'Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul." 


240  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

come  shortly,"  (Phil.  ii.  24,)  he  writes  to  the  Phil- 
ippians.  He  requests  Philemon  to  prepare  him  a 
lodging.  (22  v.)  But  in  the  second  Epistle  it  is  clear 
he  had  no  such  expectation,  for  he  says,  "I  am  ready 
to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at 
hand."  (2  Tim.  iv.  6.)  Again,  St.  Paul  says,  "Eras- 
tus  abode  at  Corinth."  (iv.  20.)  This  implies  a  second 
journey  to  Rome.  It  implies  that  they  traveled  to- 
gether, and  that  while  Paul  proceeded  to  Rome,  Eras- 
tus  remained  at  Corinth.  It  is  certain  that  this  lan- 
guage would  not  be  appropriate  if  written  during 
Paul's  first  sojourn  at  Rome.  The  same  remark  is  ap- 
plicable to  what  St.  Paul  says  of  Trophimus.  "  Tro- 
phimus  have  I  left  at  Miletum  sick."  (iv.  20.)  Paul, 
when  sent  by  Festus  to  Rome,  did  not  stop  at  Mile- 
tum. Nor  could  he  have  referred  to  his  first  visit 
to  Miletus,  (Acts,  xx.,)  five  years  before.  He  evi- 
dently refers  to  a  recent  occurrence.  There  would 
have  been  no  propriety  in  informing  Timothy  that, 
five  years  before,  he  had  left  a  fellow-laborer  sick,  as 
a  reason  why  he  should  hasten  to  Rome  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  fact,  moreover,  that  certain  persons 
are  spoken  of  as  present  in  the  first  Epistle  who  are 
mentioned  as  absent  in  the  second,  is  a  strong  reason 
for  supposing  the  second  Epistle  to  have  been  writ- 
ten during  a  second  imprisonment.  Timothy  was 
at  Rome  when  St.  Paul  wrote  his  first  Epistle,  and 
absent-  of  course  when  Paul  addressed  to  him  his 
second  Epistle.  The  same  remark  is  true  of  Demas 
and  of  Mark.  These  internal  evidences,  added  to 
those  testimonies  to  which  we  have  referred,  leave 
no  just  reason  to  doubt  that  St.  Paul  was  impris- 
oned at  Rome  a  second  time.  If  they  do  not  con- 
stitute a  demonstration,  they  at  least  conclude  the 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  241 

very  highest  degree  of  probability  short  of  demon- 
stration. 

It  would  be  extremely  interesting  to  know  the 
circumstances  of  St.  Paul's  acquittal  at  his  first  im- 
prisonment. In  the  absence  of  any  authentic  testi- 
mony on  the  subject,  we  'can  only  form  some  con- 
jectures as  to  his  trial,  from  what  we  learn  of  the 
mode  of  procedure  that  prevailed  at  that  period. 
This  has  been  so  admirably  done  in  Gonybeare  and 
Howson's  Life  of  St.  Paul  that  it  would  be  a  great 
injustice  to  withhold  at  least  a  part  of  the  descrip- 
tion. 

"In  the  first  place,  after  a  long  delay,  St.  Paul's^ 
appeal  came  on  for  hearing  before  the  Emperor.  ' 
The  appeals  from  the  provinces  in  civil  cases  were 
heard,  not  by  the  Emperor  himself,  but  by  his  dele- 
gates, who  were  persons  of  consular  rank.  Augus- 
tus had  appointed  one  such  delegate  to  hear  appeals 
from  each  province  respectively.  But  criminal  ap- 
peals appear  to  have  been  heard  by  the  Emperor  in 
person,  assisted  by  his  council  of  assessors.  Tibe- 
rius and  Claudius  had  usually  sat  for  this  purpose 
in  the  former;  but  N"ero,  after  the  example  of  Au- 
gustus, heard  those  causes  in  the  imperial  palace, 
whose  ruins  still  crown  the  Palatine.  Here,  at  one 
end  of  a  splendid  hall,  lined  with  the  precious  mar- 
bles of  Egypt  and  Lybia,  we  must  imagine  the  Csesar 
seated  in  the  midst  of  his  assessors.  These  council- 
lors, twenty  in  number,  were  men  of  the  highest 
rank  and  greatest  influence.  Among  them  were  the 
two  consuls  and  selected  representatives  of  each  of 
the  other  great  magistracies  of  Rome.  The  remain- 
der consisted  of  senators  chosen  by  lot.  Over  this 
distinguished  bench  of  judges  presided  the  represen-^ 


242  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

tative  of  the  most  powerful  monarchy  which  has 
ever  existed,  the  absolute  ruler  of  the  whole  civilized 
world.  But  the  reverential  awe  which  his  position 
naturally  suggested  was  changed  into  contempt  and 
loathing  by  the  character  of  the  sovereign  who  now 
presided  over  that  supreme  tribunal.  For  Nero  was 
a  man  whom  even  the  awful  attribute  of  ' power 
equal  to  the  gods'  could  not  render  august  except 
in  title.  The  fear  and  horror  excited  by  his  omnip- 
otence and  cruelty  were  blended  with  contempt  for 
his  ignoble  lust  of  praise  and  his  shameless  licen- 
tiousness. His  degrading  want  of  dignity  and  insa- 
tiable appetite  for  vulgar  applause  drew  tears  from 
the  councillors  and  servants  of  his  house,  who  could, 
however,  see  him  slaughter  his  nearest  relations 
without  remonstrance. 

"Before  the  tribunal  of  this  blood-stained  adul- 
terer, Paul  the  Apostle  was  now  brought  in  fetters 
under  the  custody  of  a  military  guard.  But  to  him 
all  the  majesty  of  Borne  was  nothing  more  than  an 
empty  pageant;  the  demi-god  himself  was  but  'one 
of  the  princes  of  this  world  that  come  to  naught.' 
Thus  he  stood,  calm  and  collected,  ready  to  answer 
the  charges  of  his  accusers,  and  knowing  that  in  the 
hour  of  his  need  it  should  be  given  him  what  to 
\  speak."* 

We  have  seen  already  that  the  charges  brought 
against  the  Apostle  could  not  be  proved,  and  even 
if  proved,  would  not  have  been  a  violation  of  the 
laws  of  the  empire.  Yet  if  the  influence  of  Pop- 
pea,  or  the  caprice  of  the  Emperor,  had  been 

*  Conybeare  and  Howson's  Life  and  Writings  of  St.  Paul,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  465-67.  It  is  not  thought  necessary  to  append  the  notes  which 
confirm  or  illustrate  the  passages  quoted. 


SH.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  243 

turned  against  the  Apostle,  no  doubt  he  would 
have  been  condemned.  We  are  left  wholly  to  con- 
jecture as  to  the  influences  which  determined  his 
acquittal. 

The  causes  and  the  circumstances  of  St.  Paul's 
second  imprisonment  at  Rome  are  as  obscure  as 
those  of  his  first  acquittal.  There  is  no  expression 
of  his  purpose  again  to  visit  Rome  in  his  first  Epis- 
tle to  Timothy,  or  in  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  Hence 
we  infer  that  he  was  carried  thither  as  a  prisoner. 
By  whom  or  on  what  charges,  does  not  appear.  But 
we  know  that  a  great  change  in  the  policy  of  the 
Roman  Government  and  in  the  feelings  of  the  peo- 
ple had  taken  place  between  his  first  and  second 
imprisonment.  The  first  imperial  persecution  had 
occurred,  and  the  Christians  had  become  distin- 
guished in  the  popular  apprehension  from  the  Jews, 
with  whom  they  had  formerly  been  confounded. 
St.  Paul  might  well  anticipate  his  own  martyrdom 
when  he  arrived  in  Rome,  a  prisoner  for  the  second 
time,  after  the  scenes  of  persecution  which  have  been 
so  graphically  commemorated  by  the  pen  of  Taci- 
tus. The  well-known  passage  should  not  be  omitted 
in  this  connection. 

"But  neither  these  religious  ceremonies,  nor  the) 
liberal  donations  of  the  prince,  could  efface  from 
the  minds  of  men  the  prevailing  opinion  that  Rome 
was  set  on  fire  by  his  own  orders.  The  infamy  of 
that  horrible  transaction  still  adhered  to  him.  In 
order,  if  possible,  to  remove  this  imputation,  he  de- 
termined to  transfer  the  guilt  to  others.  For  this 
purpose  he  punished,  with  exquisite  torture,  a  race 
of  men  detested  for  their  evil  practices,  by  vulgar 
appellation  commonly  called  Christians.  The  name 


244  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

was  derived  from  Christ,  who,  in  the  time  of  Tibe- 
rius, suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Procurator 
of  Judea.  By  that  event  the  sect  of  which  he  was 
a  founder  received  a  blow  which,  for  a  time,  checked 
Ithe  growth  of  a  dangerous  superstition;  but  it  re- 
vived soon  after  and  spread  with  recruited  vigor,  not 
only  in  Judea,  the  soil  that  gave  it  birth,  but  even 
in  the  City  of  Rome,  the  common  sink  into  which 
everything  infamous  and  abominable  flows  like  a 
torrent  from  all  quarters  of  the  world.  £Tero  pro- 
ceeded with  his  usual  artifice.  He  found  a  set  of 
' 

abandoned  and  profligate  wretches  who  were  in- 
duced to  confess  themselves  guilty,  and  on  the  evi- 
dence of  such  men  a  number  of  Christians  were 
convicted,  not  on  the  clear  evidence  of  their  having 
set  the  city  on  fire,  but  rather  on  account  of  their 
sullen  hatred  of  the  whole  Roman  race.  They  were 
put  to  death  with  exquisite  cruelty,  and  to  their  suf- 
ferings Nero  added  mockery  and  derision.  Some 
were  covered  with  the  skins  of  beasts  and  left  to  be 

_  devoured  by  dogs ;  others  were  nailed  to  the  cross ; 
numbers  were  burnt  alive;  and  many,  covered  over 
with  inflammable  matter,  were  lighted  up  when  the 
day  declined  to  serve  as  torches  during  the  night. 
For  the  convenience  of  seeing  this  tragic  spectacle, 
the  Emperor  lent  his  own  gardens.  He  added  the 
sports  of  the  circus,  and  assisted  in  person,  some- 
times driving  a  curricle,  and  occasionally  mixing 

^with  the  rabble  in  his  coachman's  dress."* 

St.  Paul  in  his  second  Epistle  to  Timothy  makes 
no  allusion  to  the  charge  upon  which  he  was  again 
remanded  to  Rome  and  to  prison.  In  the  recollec- 

*  Tacitus'  Annals,  xv.  44. 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  245 

tion  of  the  scenes  described  by  Tacitus,  he  must 
have  had  a  full  persuasion  of  his  own  coming  mar- 
tyrdom. It  is  probable  that,  after  the  persecution 
described  above,  the  profession  of  Christianity  was 
forbidden  by  the  laws,  then  newly  enforced  against 
new  and  unlawful  religions.  They  had  been  applied 
on  several  occasions  to  the  worship  of  Isis,  and  other 
Eastern  gods,  when  the  popular  indignation  had  risen 
against  them. 

There  appear  to  have  been  none  of  the  alleviations 
and  relaxations  to  this  imprisonment  which  he  had 
previously  enjoyed.  He  was  now  not  only  in  chains, 
but  as  a  malefactor.  "I  suffer  trouble,"  he  says,  "as 
an  evil-doer,  or  malefactor,  even  unto  bonds."  (2 
Tim.  ii.  9.)  He  had  previously  been  arraigned 
rather  as  a  state  prisoner, — as  one  who  had  violated 
a  law  of  one  of  their  provinces,  Judea, — whom  they 
were  bound  to  protect.  !N"ow,  he  seems  to  have  been 
presented  as  a  culprit — a  direct  violator  of  the  laws 
of  the  empire.  He  was  not  permitted  as  before  to 
preach  and  teach.  That  it  was  dangerous  and  ob- 
noxious to  visit  him,  and  difficult  to  find  him,  we 
infer  from  his  grateful  commemoration  of  the  visit 
of  Onesiphorus.  "The  Lord  give  mercy  unto  the 
house  of  Onesiphorus;  for  he  oft  refreshed  me,  and 
was  not  ashamed  of  my  chain ;  but  when  he  was  in 
Rome  he  sought  me  out  very  diligently  and  found 
me."  (2  Tim.  xvi.  17.)  The  aged  Apostle,  now  more 
aged  by  several  years  than  when  he  used  the  expres- 
sion, seems  to  have  been  deserted  by  all  his  friends 
and  brethren,  except  St.  Luke.  "  Only  Luke  is  with 
me."  (2  Tim.  iv.  11.)  "Demas  hath  forsaken  me, 
having  loved  this  present  world,  and  is  departed 
unto  Thessalonica;  Cresseus  to  Galatia;  Titus  unto 

31 


246  ST.   PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Dalmatia."  (2  Tim,  iv.  10.)  Added  to  this  sense  of 
desertion  and  loneliness,  was  the  consciousness  of 
being  subjected  to  the  wiles  of  malignant  enemies. 
"Alexander  the  coppersmith  did  me  much  evil: 
the  Lord  reward  him  according  to  his  works;  of 
whom  be  thou  ware  also,  for  he  hath  greatly  with- 
stood our  words."  (14,  15.)  "When  he  is  arraigned 
before  the  tribunal,  there  is  not  a  solitary  Christian 
friend  to  stand  by  him.  "At  my  first  answer  no 
man  stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook  me;  I  pray 
God  that  it  may  not  be  laid  to  their  charge."  (16.) 
He  evidently  looked  forward  to  certain  condemna- 
tion and  death;  and  in  these  circumstances  of  the 
desertion  of  friends,  of  loneliness,  and  of  the  weight 
of  years,  was  enabled  calmly  to  declare,  "I  am  ready 
to  be  offered,  and'the  time  of  my  departure  is  at 
hand."  (6.)  It  is  a  touching  incidental  proof  of  his 
destitution,  and  of  the  absence  of  friends  to  minister 
to  his  necessities,  such  as  he  enjoyed  during  his  first 
imprisonment,  when  he  declared,  "I  have  all  and 
abound,"  that  he  should  now  write  to  Timothy, 
"The  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  when 
thou  comest  bring  with  thee,  and  the  books,  but  es- 
pecially the  parchments."  (13.) 

That  in  the  circumstances  in  which  St.  Paul  was 
placed  he  should  have  been  able  to  have  written  the 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  is  a  proof  of  the  sublime  power 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  grace  of  God.  It  is  no  less 
remarkable  for  what  it  omits  than  for  what  it  con- 
tains. Its  solemnity,  its  tenderness,  its  calm  eleva- 
tion are  befitting  to  the  soul  that  is  on  the  verge  of 
heaven.  But  that,  thus  in  prison,  deserted  of  friends, 
surrounded  by  enemies,  and  about  to  die  a  cruel 
death,  there  should  be  no  egotism,  no  querulousness, 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  247 

no  crimination, — in  this  is  to  be  found  the  divine 
and  sublime  beauty  of  the  Epistle.  He  writes  to 
animate  his  beloved  son  Timothy  to  be  steadfast 
under  the  persecution  which  he  foresaw  would  soon 
assail  the  churches.  He  commends  his  faith — the 
precious  inheritance  of  his  mother  Eunice  and  grand- 
mother Lois.  And  then,  animating  him  to  con- 
stancy, he  writes  these  noble  words,  "For  God  hath 
not  given  us  a  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  love,  and  of 
power,  and  of  a  sound  mind."  And  then,  his  soul 
soaring  toward  his  Saviour,  in  lofty  peace  he  enters 
upon  his  teaching  and  exhortation. 

Timothy  must  not  shrink  from  suffering.  He 
must  not  merely  submit  to  it,  and  be  crushed  by  it. 
He  must  work  in  the  midst  of  it.  So  did  the  Mas- 
ter. He  must  be  a  busy  and  thorough  workman  in 
the  Gospel.  He  must  avoid  foolish,  speculative, 
barren  questions;  for  some,  as  Hymen  seas  and  Phile- 
tus,  have  been  led  astray  by  them  to  the  denial  of 
the  first  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Better  to  rest  in  plain 
saving  truth  and  practical  duty.  For  from  neglect 
of  this,  in  the  last  days,  evil  times  will  come  in 
which  men  will  join  licentious  practices  to  specula- 
tive errors. 

Then  follow  exhortations  to  constancy,  in  which 
there  is  no  gloom,  no  fearfulness,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, high-hearted  joyfulness.  He  would  have 
Timothy  come  to  him  speedily.  He  evidently  trusts 
in  his  friendship  and  fidelity. 

There  are  some  names  mentioned  in  the  last  verse 
but  one  of  this/  Epistle,  which  possess  much  interest. 
"There  salute  tliee  Eubulus,  and  Pudens,  and  Linus, 
and  Claudia,  and  all  the  brethren."  Linus  is  proba- 
bly the  person  who  was  afterward  Bishop  of  Rome. 


248  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

Pudens  and  his  family  have  been  made  the  subjects 
of  many  Roman  traditions.  Those  traditions  are 
minute  and  specific,  but  rest  upon  nothing  that  can 
be  considered  as  historical  testimony.  "We  are  told 
of  the  sojourn  of  St.  Peter  at  his  house.  We  are 
shown  the  mosaic  floor  of  his  house  in  the  church 
dedicated  to  Santa  Prudentiana,  his  daughter.  It 
is  astonishing  how  many  and  minute  facts  are  stated 
and  believed,  on  no  other  ground  than  that  such  is  the 
tradition  of  the  church.  We  are  not  only  required 
to  accept  with  unquestioning  faith  the  traditions  of 
the  church,  but  we  are  required  to  believe  that  cer- 
tain things  are  the  traditions  of  the  church,  on  the 
most  meager  and  unsatisfactory  evidence.  There  is 
undoubtedly  a  certain  prima  facie  evidence  in  a  gen- 
eral tradition,  which  states  facts  which  are  im- 
probable or  impossible,  but  it  may  safely  be  said 
that  we  are  called  upon  to  accept  many  things  as 
traditions  on  individual  testimonies  that  are  not  so. 
Hence,  when  anything  is  stated  on  Romish  authority 
to  be  a  tradition,  we  have  two  separate  questions  to 
ask:  first,  "is  it  a  tradition?"  and  second,  "is  it 
true?"  The  names  of  Pudens  and  Claudia  are  pa- 
trician. There  is  an  epigram  of  Martial,  congratu- 
latory and  eulogistic,  on  the  marriage  of  a  Pudens 
and  Claudia;  but  there  is  no  proof  that  they  are  the 
persons  mentioned  by  St.  Paul.  The  salutations 
sent  by  these  Christian  friends  to  Timothy  prove 
that,  at  the  period  when  this  Epistle  was  written, 
they  had  access  to  the  Apostle.  It  is  scarcely  credi- 
ble that  St.  Paul  could  have  been  in  the  Mamertine 
prison  when  he  wrote  this  Epistle,  and  wras  able  to 
communicate  with  some  of  his  brethren  in  Rome. 
On  what  charges  Paul  was  tried  we  cannot  learn. 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  249 

It  may  have  been  on  the  charge  of  teaching  a  reli- 
gion forbidden  by  the  state.  It  may  have  been  on 
Nero's  false  accusation  that  as  a  prime  leader  of  the 
Christians  he  had  instigated  them  to  burn  the  city. 
But  that  it  was  not  this  time  "before  Csesar,"  ap- 
pears from  the  statement  of  Clemens  Romanus  that 
he  was  tried  before  "the  presiding  magistrates."* 
He  describes  his  first  appearance  before  them  in 
these  words:  "When  I  was  first  heard  in  my  de- 
fense, no  man  stood  by  me,  but  all  forsook  me.  I 
pray  that  it  be  not  laid  to  their  charge.  Nevertheless, 
the  Lord  stood  by  me  and  strengthened  my  heart." 
(2  Tim.  iv.  16,  17.)  At  that  time  he  was  delivered 
from  the  wrath  of  the  lion.  But  at  a  subsequent 
period  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  was  condemned  and 
executed,  although  we  are  left  utterly  in  the  dark  as 
to  his  trial  and  his  death. 

Although  we  have  no  authentic  testimony  on  this 
subject,  we  may  yet  follow  with  great  interest  the 
suggestions  which  have  been  made  by  the  authors 
already  quoted  as  to  "the  probable  external  features 
of  his  last  trial."  He  evidently  intimates  that  he 
had  spoken  before  a  crowded  audience,  so  "that  all 
the  Gentiles  might  hear,"  and  this  corresponds  with 
the  supposition  which  historically  we  should  be  led 
to  make,  that  he  was  tried  in  one  of  those  great 
Basilicas  which  stood  in  the  Forum.  Two  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  these  edifices  were  called  the 
Pauline  Basilicas,  from  the  well-known  Lucius 
-^Emelius  Paulus,  who  had  built  one  of  them  and 
restored  the  other.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
greatest  man  who  ever  bore  the  Pauline  name  was 

*  See  Conybeare  and  Howson,  vol.  ii.  p.  498. 


250  ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME. 

tried  in  one  of  these.  From  specimens  which  still 
exist,  as  well  as  from  the  descriptions  of  Vetriivius, 
we  have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  these  halls  of 
justice.  "They  were  rectangular  buildings,  consist- 
ing of  a  central  nave  and  two  aisles,  separated  from 
the  nave  by  rows  of  columns.  At  one  end  of  the 
nave  was  the  tribune,  in  the  center  of  which  was 
placed  the  magistrate's  curule  chair  of  ivory  elevated 
on  a  platform  called  the  tribunal.  Here  sat  also  the 
council  of  assessors,  who  advised  the  prefect  upon 
the  law,  though  they  had  no  voice  in  the  judgment. 
On  the  sides  of  the  tribune  were  seats  for  distin- 
guished persons,  as  well  as  for  parties  engaged  in 
the  proceedings.  Fronting  the  presiding  magistrate 
stood  the  prisoner  with  his  accusers  and  his  advo- 
cates. The  public  was  admitted  into  the  remainder 
of  the  nave  and  aisles,  which  was  railed  oft*  from 
the  portion  devoted  to  judicial  proceedings;  and 
there  were  also  galleries  along  the  whole  length  of 
the  aisles — one  for  men,  the  other  for  women.  The 
aisles  were  roofed  over  as  was  the  tribune.  The 
nave  was  originally  left  open  to  the  sky.  The  Ba- 
silicas were  buildings  of  great  size,  so  that  a  vast 
multitude  of  spectators  was  always  present  at  any 
trial  which  excited  public  interest." 

If  such  were  the  circumstances  of  St.  Paul's  trial, 
we  cannot  doubt  that  he  bore  himself,  as  before 
Festus  and  Agrippa,  with  dignity  and  intrepidity 
and  with  all  fidelity  to  his  Master  and  his  convictions. 

From  all  that  we  have  thus  far  adduced  we  may 
conclude,  I  think,  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty, 
that  Paul  was  tried  and  acquitted  at  his  first  im- 
prisonment; that  he  subsequently  exercised  his 
ministry  for  some  years,  both  in  the  East  and  West ; 


ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME.  251 

that  he  was  a  second  time  prisoner  at  Rome;  that  at 
his  first  hearing  he  was  acquitted,  hut  that  he  sub- 
sequently was  tried  and  condemned  and  executed. 
But  though  there  be  sufficient  proof  of  his  martyr- 
dom, there  is  nothing,  as  we  shall  see,  which  can  be 
relied  upon  as  proof,  as  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
imprisonment,  trial,  and  execution. 

Here  we  might  naturally  conclude  our  account  of 
St.  Paul  in  Rome.  But  what  is  called  the  tradition 
of  the  church,  minutely  and  confidently  narrates  his 
confinement  in  the  Mamertine  prison,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  death.  Many  Protestant  authors 
are  disposed  to  endeavor  to  separate  from  these  nar- 
ratives all  that  is  miraculous  and  absurd,  and  to  rest 
in  the  conviction  that  the  Apostle  was  confined  in 
the  Mamertine  prison  and  carried  out  upon  the 
Ostian  Way  and  executed  at  the  point'  three 
miles  from  the  gate,  where  the  church  "  San  Paulo 
alle  Tre  Fontane"  was  subsequently  erected  in  com- 
memoration of  the  martyrdom.  ~Now  although  there 
is  nothing  improbable  in  the  statement,  and  no  evi- 
dence against  it,  I  am  yet  unable  to  feel,  from  any 
authorities  to  which  I  have  had  access,  that  it  is 
either  proved,  or  by  the  evidence  made  more  probable. 
It  may  be  probable  in  itself;  but  no  evidence  has 
been  adduced  which,  to  my  mind,  increases  that  in- 
herent original  probability.  It  seems  to  me  a  point 
neither  proved  nor  disproved,  and  having  no  satis- 
factory evidence  for  it  or  against  it.  My  reasons  for 
this  conviction  can  be  briefly  stated. 

1.  In  looking  into  the  authorities  for  these  state- 
ments I  find  none  that  are  contemporaneous,  nor 
that  are  so  near  to  the  period  as  to  be  the  evidence 
of  witnesses.  Clemens  Romanus  declares  the  mar- 


252  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

tyrdom  of  St.  Paul,  but  gives  no  account  of'  the  place 
of  his  imprisonment,  nor  of  the  mode  and  scene  of 
his  martyrdom. 

2.  In  the  absence  of  contemporary  authorities,  we 
are  referred  to  others  which  testify  at  the  same  time 
to  incidents  and  marvels  and  absurdities  which  it  is 
impossible  to  accept.  It  may  be  said  that  we  are  at 
liberty  to  accept  what  seems  to  us  probable,  and  re- 
ject what  is  impossible  or  absurd.  But  in  that  case 
we  do  not  accept  anything  in  fact  on  the  testimony, 
but  only  our  own  mind's  decision  as  to  what  we  con- 
ceive might  probably  have  happened.  I  do  not  ob- 
ject to  the  inherent  probability  that  St.  Paul  may 
have  been  placed  in  the  Mamertine  prison,  and  exe- 
cuted on  the  Ostian  Way;  but  to  accepting  as  of 
any  value  what  is  presented  as  testimony  to  that 
effect.'  We  are  told  that  St.  Paul  was  in  the  Mam- 
ertine prison,  and  are  at  the  same  time  informed 
that  St.  Peter  was  there,  and  that  a  fountain  sprang 
out  of  the  rock  and  still  remains  there,  at  which 
St.  Peter  baptized  his  jailers.  We  are  told  that  St. 
Paul  was  executed  at  the  site  of  the  "San  Paulo 
alle  Tre  Fontane,"  but  by  the  same  authority  we 
are  assured  that  when  his  head  was  cut  off,  it  was 
milk  instead  of  blood  that  flowed  from  it,  and  that 
it  bounced  three  times  after  it  was  off,  and  at  every 
spot  at  which  it  fell  a  fountain  was  opened  which 
still  continues  flowing.  Now  we  do  not  deny  nor 
assert  that  St.  Paul  was  at  the  Mamertine  prison, 
and  was  executed  at  the  spot  thus  indicated,  but  we 
refuse  to  accept  such  testimony  in  the  case.  If  a 
witness  testify  to  three  things,  two  of  which  we 
know  to  be  absurd  and  false,  he  has  disqualified 
himself  for  being  accepted  as  a  witness  to  the  third 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  253 

point,  however  reasonable  or  probable  his  statement 
may  appear. 

3.  The  testimony,  or  tradition,  or  whatever  we 
may  prefer  to  call  it,  which  would  lead  us  to  con- 
sider it  a  fact  proved  that  St.  Paul  was  in  the  Mam- 
ertine  prison,  and  was  executed  at  the  point  indica- 
ted on  the  Ostian  Way,  would  also  compel  us  to 
accept  the  statements  concerning  St.  Peter's  Episco- 
pate in  Rome  and  supremacy  over  the  churches,  as 
well  as  the  fact  of  his  martyrdom  and  its  accom- 
panying marvels.  How  impossible  it  is  for  a  mind 
which  demands  proofs  before  it  gives  its  assent,  to 
ac§Bpt  the  statements  on  those  points  with  which  the 
supposed  proofs  concerning  Paul's  imprisonment 
and  death  are  inseparably  bound  up,  will  appear,  I 
think,  from  the  following  considerations. 

(1)  From  the  history  of  St.  Peter,  as  it  is  found 
in  the  New  Testament,  there  is  not  the  slightest  evi- 
dence that  he  ever  came  to  Rome.  There  is  only 
one  passage  which  can  even  be  supposed  to  furnish 
a  proof  that  he  had  ever  been  in  Rome.  That  this 
passage  should  have  been  employed  for  that  purpose 
is  a  proof  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  finding  any- 
thing that  looks  like  evidence  to  that  effect.  The 
passage  in  one  of  the  closing  verses  of  the  first  Epis- 
tle, "The  church  that  is  at  Babylon  elected  to- 
gether with  you  saluteth  you."  This  is  the  only 
passage  upon  which  Bellarmine  relies  to  show  that  St. 
Peter  was  at  Rome.  He  considers  that  by  Baby- 
lon, pagan  Rome  was  intended  by  St.  Peter.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  enter  upon  an  argument  to  show 
how  groundless  is  this  supposition.  Neither  he  nor 
any  other  writer  pretends  to  cite  any  other  evidence 

32 


254  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

from  Scripture  in  proof  of  the  supposed  residence 
of  St.  Peter  at  Rome. 

It  has  indeed  been  denied  that  this  Epistle  of  St. 
Peter  could  have  been  addressed  from  the  literal 
Babylon  of  Mesopotamia,  because  it  was  at  that 
time  a  desolate  wilderness,  a  haunt  of  wild  beasts. 
Strabo  says  that  the  great. city  had  become  a  great 
desert.  This  author  died  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius, 
about  the  year  A.  D.  25.  If  then  his  description  is 
to  be  literally  received,  the  city  must  have  been 
then  an  uninhabited  wilderness.  But  according  to 
Josephus,  (lib.  18,  chap.  ix.  §  38,)  it  was  at  that  very 
time  the  abode  of  a  very  numerous  colony  of  J^vs. 
He  states  that  a  large  number  of  Jews,  after  this 
period,  (between  A.D.  37  and  41,)  migrated  from 
Babylon  to  the  neighboring  Seleucia,  to  escape 
the  persecutions  of  the  Parthians  of  that  city.  He 
also  adds  that,  within  the  same  period,  50,000  of  the 
Jews  perished  by  the  hands  of  the  Seleucians.  Hence 
we  are  compelled  to  infer  that  Strabo  meant  nothing 
more  than  to  give  a  strong  expression  to  the  con- 
trast between  the  former  grandeur  and  the  then 
comparative  desolation  of  Babylon.  Moreover,  it  is 
well  known  that  down  to  the  middle  of  the  second 
century,  vast  numbers  of  Jews  were  gathered  in  the 
Province  of  Babylonia,  and  that  in  the  reign  of  Had- 
rian, they  broke  forth  in  frequent  sanguinary  attacks, 
both  against  their  Parthian  and  Roman  oppressors. 
Within  three  centuries  after  Christ,  the  great  seat  of 
Rabbinical  learning  was  fixed  at  Babylon,  and  then 
and  there  the  famous  Babylonian  Talmud  was  pro- 
duced. 

This  then  was  precisely  the  place  at  which  we 
might  expect  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision  to 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  255 

have  sojourned.  In  the  absence  of  any  proof  to 
the  contrary,  and  in  the  presence  of  many  concur- 
rent probabilities  of  the  fact,  we  must  conclude  that 
St.  Peter  dated  his  Epistle  from  the  Babylon  of  Meso- 
potamia. Thus  the  one  alleged  proof  from  Scripture 
that  Peter  was  ever  in  Rome  falls  to  the  ground. 

(2)  There  is  also  a  negative  argument  against  the 
claim  of  St.  Peter  having  been  at  Rome  so  strong  as 
to  be  almost  equivalent  to  a  positive  demonstration. 
It  is  the  fact,  that  neither  during  St.  Paul's  first  nor 
second  imprisonment,  neither  in  his  letter  to  the  Ro- 
mans before  he  came  to  them,  nor  in  his  letters  from 
Rome  during  his  first  imprisonment,  nor  in  his  last 
letter  to  Timothy  during  his  second  imprisonment,  is 
there  the  slightest  allusion  to  St.  Peter  as  having,  or 
ever  having  had,  any  connection  with  the  Church  of 
Rome.     It  is  incredible  that  if  Peter  had  been,  as  it 
is  claimed,  Bishop  of  Rome  for  more  than  twenty 
years,  no  allusion,  even  remote  and  incidental,  should 
have  been  made  to  him,  on  either  of  these  occasions. 
When  we  add  to  this  fact  that  St.  Clement,  who 
speaks  of  St.  Paul,  makes  no  mention  of  St.  Peter, 
we  have  a  negative  argument,  an  argument  from 
silence,  as  strong  as  can  be  conceived. 

(3)  As  the  one  passage  relied  upon  in  Scripture 
to  prove  that  St.  Peter  wrote  his  first  Epistle  from 
Rome  is  thoroughly  insufficient  for  that  purpose,  so 
is  the  one  passage  outside  of  Scripture,  in  proof  of 
his  coming  to  Rome  in  the  second  year  of  Claudius. 
The  Roman  historian,  Suetonius,  (In  Claudio,  c.  25,) 
mentions  that,  at  that  period,  a  Jew,  by  the  name  of 
Simon,  came  to  Rome,  and  so  stirred  up  his  country- 
men to  quarrels  and  seditions  that  Claudius  decreed 
that  all  Jews  should  be  banished  from  the  city.     On 


256  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

this  statement  rests  the  only  proof  of  St.  Peter's 
coming  to  Rome  in  the  year  A.D.  41,  and  his  expul- 
sion from  it  for  a  time.  It  is  asserted  without  a 
shadow  of  proof  or  probability  that  this  Simon  the 
Jew  was  Peter  the  Apostle.  This  statement,  and  the 
salutation  from  Babylon  in  the  Epistle  of  St.  Peter, 
are  all  the  contemporary  evidence  which  is  even  at- 
tempted to  be  adduced  for  St.  Peter's  residence  in 
Rome.  On  these  rest  the  traditions.  On  the  tradi- 
tions rests  the  statement  of  the  fathers.  On  the 
statement  of  the  fathers  rests  the  whole  vast  fabric 
of  the  Papal  supremacy.  It  is  such  a  feat  in  logic  as 
it  would  be  in  mechanics  to  upturn  St.  Peter's  and 
make  it  rest  upon  the  cross  that  crowns  its  dome. 

(4)  How  utterly  one  finds  himself  without  a  rea- 
son when  he  seeks  authorities  for  the  facts  so  mi- 
nutely recorded  concerning  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
will  appear  from  a  few  instances. 

There  is  no  higher  authority  in  the  Church  of 
Rome  than  that  of  their  great  historian  Baronius. 
He  relates  at  length  the  imprisonment  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul.  St.  Peter's  escape  from  prison,  and 
his  meeting  of  Christ  on  the  Appian  Way,  with  the 
salutation,  "Domini  quo  Vcedis?"  "Lord,  whither 
goest  thou?"  and  the  Lord's  reply,  that  he  goes  "to 
Rome  to  be  crucified  anew,"  and  St.  Peter's  convic- 
tion and  return ;  the  conversion  and  baptism  of  their 
jailers  by  the  Apostles;  their  incarceration  for 
eight  months  previous  to  their  martyrdom.  But 
when  we  look  for  the  authorities  for  all  these  inter- 
esting facts,  we  are  referred  to  nothing  better  than 
the  Roman  Martyr  ologies,  which  were  compiled  cen- 
turies after  the  events  which  are  thus  confidently 
recorded. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  257 

And  again,  when  we  have  references  to  authorities 
which  promise  to  be  more  authentic  and  reliable, 
we  are  compelled  to  wonder  at  the  insufficiency  of 
proof  and  the  absurdity  of  the  reasonings  based 
upon  them,  to  which  we  are  so  boldly  directed.  We 
are  told,  for  instance,  by  Baronius,  that  when  the 
Apostles  were  taken  from  the  prison  they  were 
scourged  previous  to  their  execution.  He  says  that 
it  might  be  a  question  whether  Paul,  a  Roman  citi- 
zen, was  subjected  to  this  indignity,  but  that  the 
fact  cannot  be  doubted,  because  the  column  is  preserved 
in  S.  Maria,  in  Trastevere,  at  which  the  Apostles  were 
scourged!*  When  the  most  learned  of  the  Romish 
historians  resorts  to  a  proof  like  this,  we  may  well 
suppose  that  no  proofs  exist. 

The  want  of  good  faith  in  the  conspicuous  exhi- 
bition of  so-called  proofs  of  the  most  important 
statements,  which  are  elsewhere  admitted  by  the 
highest  authority  to  be  worthless,  is  another  painful 
feature  of  this  gigantic  structure  of  deception  and 
delusion.  Of  this  I  mention  but  one  instance. 

On  the  Ostian  Way  there  is  a  little  chapel  erected 
at  the  spot  where  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  are  said  to 
have  separated,  the  one  to  be  crucified  on  the  Jani- 
culum,  the  other  to  be  beheaded  at  the  Acque  Salvie. 
On  this  chapel  there  is  an  inscription  in  Italian,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  translation:  "At  this  place 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  on  their  way  to  martyrdom, 
separated  from  each  other ;  and  St.  Paul  said  to  St. 
Peter,  '  Peace  be  with  thee,  thou  (fundamento)  foun- 
dation of  the  church  and  pastor  of  all  the  lambs  of 
Christ;'  and  Peter  said  to  Paul,  'Go  in  peace, 

*  Baronius,  vol.  i.  p.  666. 


258  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

preacher  of  good  tidings  and  guide  of  the  saints 
and  of  the  just.' "  As  authority  for  this  statement, 
reference  is  made  on  the  tablet  to  "  Dyonisius  in 
Epistolo  ad  Timotheum." 

Now  certainly  so  important  a  statement  as  this — 
testimony  given  by  St.  Paul  to  the  supremacy  of 
Peter  at  the  last  solemn  hour  of  life — should  not 
be  obtruded  on  the  public  highway,  unless  the 
church,  without  whose  sanction  it  would  not  remain 
there  a  moment,  fully  believed  that  such  testimony, 
whatever  its  value,  had  at  least  been  given.  "What  is 
our  surprise  upon  turning  to  Baronius,  the  most  au- 
thoritative and  accredited  historian  of  the  church, 
to  find  him  declare  this  quotation  from  Dyonisius 
not  to  be  authentic,  and  that  the  fact  there  recorded 
is  to  be  believed  rather  by  tradition  than  from  any  di- 
rect assertion  of  the  ancient  writers  !*  What  can  be 
more  dishonest  than  this  conspicuous  testimony  ob- 
truded by  the  church  on  the  highway,  which  is  at 
the  same  time  declared  by  the  highest  authority  in 
the  church  to  be  a  falsehood  and  a  forgery  ? 

One  other  instance  of  the  failure  to  find  the  re- 
spectable support  to  an  assertion  which  we  are  led  to 
expect  from  the  reference  which  is  given,  will  suf- 
fice. Baronius,  in  narrating  the  fact  of  the  behead- 
ing of  St.  Paul,  of  the  flowing  of  rnilk  from  his 
neck,  and  that  the  severed  head  gave  three  long 
leaps,  and  that  from  each  place  where  the  head 
struck,  a  fountain  sprung,  refers  the  reader  to  the 
sixty-eighth  sermon  of  St.  Ambrose.  Upon  turning 
to  this  sermon  we  find  the  following  observations : 
"When  the  executioner  had  cut  off  St.  Paul's  head 

*  Baronius,  vol.  i.  p.  666. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  259 

with  a  sword,  it  is  said  that  milk  rather  than  blood 
flowed  therefrom,  which  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered 
at  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul.  For  what  is  there  surpris- 
ing in  the  fact  that  the  nourisher  (nutritor)  of  the 
church,  he  who  said  to  the  Corinthians,  i  hitherto  I 
have  fed  you  with  milk  and  not  with  meat,'  should 
abound  in  milk?  This  is  plainly  the  land  which 
God  promised  to  the  fathers,  saying, 4 1  will  give  you 
a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.' " 

Now  when  reference  is  made  to  a  father  in  proof 
of  a  fact  which  occurred  centuries  before  his  time, 
and  he  introduces  such  an  extraordinary  exposition 
with  the  statement,  it  is  said,  we  must  be  pardoned 
for  considering  the  passage  as  little  a  proof  of  the 
reported  fact  upon  which  he  comments,  as  it  is  evi- 
dence of  his  taste  or  judgment  as  an  expositor. 

After  even  this  brief  examination,  we  are  not  im- 
pressed by  the  imposing  array  of  the  names  of  the 
fathers  as  authorities  for  St.  Peter's  residence  at 
Home,  and  all  the  high  claims  which  are  connected 
with  his  alleged  Episcopate  and  primacy.  We  see 
from  an  examination  of  those  references  which  we 
have  considered,  of  how  little  weight,  in  the  way  of 
historical  testimony,  would  be  the  statements  of 
Eusebius  and  Jerome,  and  twenty  or  thirty  other 
fathers  who  lived  from  a  century  and  a  half  to  four 
centuries  after  Peter,  as  to  the  question  of  his  resi- 
dence, his  life  and  death  at  Rome.  They  could  but 
repeat  the  statements  of  those  who  had  gone  before. 
They  could  but  assert,  over  and  over,  that  such  arid 
such  were  the  traditions  of  the  church.  How  much 
credit  would  be  due  to  traditions  thus  created  we 
have  already  seen.  For  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
show  that  whatever  weight  may  be  due  to  that  which 


260  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

may  properly  be  called  traditions,  the  alleged  state- 
ments with  regard  to  St.  Peter  are  not  in  fact  en- 
titled to  that  name. 

A  tradition  is  a  statement  of  fact  or  doctrine, 
which,  originating  at  the  time,  or  near  the  time  of 
its  occurrence,  has  been  uninterruptedly  handed 
down  by  a  succession  of  witnesses.  Let  me  illus- 
trate this  definition.  Just  previous  to  our  Lord's 
ascension,  Peter  seeing  John,  said  to  Jesus,  "Lord, 
and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  Jesus  said,  If  I  will 
that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee?  follow 
thou  me.  Then  went  this  saying  abroad  among 
the  brethren  that  this  disciple  should  not  die;  yet 
Jesus  said  not  unto  him,  he  shall  not  die,  but  if  I 
will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee." 
Now  if  St.  John  had  disappeared,  and  no  one  had 
known  that  he  had  died,  the  saying  that  went  abroad 
among  the  brethren  that  he  should  not  die,  w^ould 
probably  have  been  handed  down  from  generation 
to  generation,  together  with  the  statement  that,  in 
accordance  with  this  saying,  he  had  not  died.  It 
would  then  have  been  truly  a  tradition,  though  a  tra- 
dition of  that  which  was  not  true.  It  would  have 
originated  from  the  Master's  saying  at  the  time  it 
was  said,  and  would  have  been  handed  down  by  suc- 
cessive witnesses.  It  is  a  singular  testimony  with 
regard  to  the  character  and  value  of  traditions,  that 
the  only  one  which  originated  with  and  prevailed  among  the 
Apostles  was  not  true.  But  the  statements  of  St. 
Peter's  residence  and  Episcopacy  and  primacy  are 
not  even  truly  traditions,  quite  independently  of  the 
truth  of  that  which  they  profess  to  deliver.  We  find 
no  contemporaneous  witness  saying  that  St.  Peter 
was  at  Rome,  nor  even  saying  that  it  ivas  said.  We 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  261 

find  no  witnesses  near  that  period  making  the  asser- 
tion. It  is  not  until  several  generations  after  his 
death  that  it  began  to  be  said  that  St.  Peter  had 
lived  and  been  crucified  at  Rome.  After  it  once 
began  to  be  said,  it  matters  not  how  many  may  have 
repeated  the  saying  on  the  authority  of  those  who 
went  before.  They  do  not  add  any  strength  to  the 
testimony.  The  chain  of  testimony  fails  for  the 
want  of  connecting  links  between  the  first  witnesses 
and  the  facts  alleged.  Nothing  is  accomplished  by 
adding  a  thousand  links  at  the  other  end  of  the 
chain. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  absence  of  any  contem- 
porary testimony  of  St.  Peter's  residence  and  Epis- 
copate at  Rome.  We  have  shown  that  the  tradition 
to  that  effect  is  utterly  wanting  in  the  characteristics 
either  of  a  true  tradition  or  of  a  tradition  that  is 
true.  We  might  add  that  neither  Clemens,  nor  Ig- 
natius, nor  Irenseus,  nor  Justin  Martyr,  nor  Tcrtul- 
lian,  directly  affirm  the  fact.  And  now  it  would  not 
be  difficult,  we  think,  to  indicate  the  origin  of  this 
asserted  residence  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  It  is  well 
known  that  even  before  the  Apostles  passed  away 
from  earth,  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  converts  differed 
and  disputed  concerning  the  observance  of  the  Mo- 
saic Law.  Paul  was  regarded  as  the  champion  of 
Gentile  freedom,  and  Peter  of  a  more  Jewish  and 
orthodox  strictness.  The  Church  of  Home  consisted, 
no  doubt,  in  a  largely  preponderant  measure,  of  Jew- 
ish converts.  They  would  be  anxious  to  sustain  the 
credit  of  their  chosen  leader,  who  they  erroneously 
supposed  differed  from  St.  Paul.  Pious  fraud,  as 
usual,  came  to  the  support  of  fanatical  and  intoler- 
ant error.  At  a  very  early  period  spurious  writings 

33 


262  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

in  the  name  of  Peter,  or  professing  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  Peter,  appeared  at  Rome.  Their  whole 
tendency  and  effect  was  to  exalt  St.  Peter  as  the 
authoritative  doctrinal  head  of  the  Christians  of  the 
capital.  The  step  was  not  long  nor  difficult  from 
this  species  of  doctrinal  headship  and  supremacy  in 
the  church,  —  itself  an  invention, — to  the  story  of 
his  actual  presence,  and  Episcopate  and  primacy. 
"The  preaching  of  Peter"  and  "The  Itinerary  of 
St.  Peter"  are  of  very  early  date.  But  that  which 
produced  the  most  effect  was  the  romance  of  "  The 
Clementines,"  together  with  "The  Recognitions," 
and  "Apostolical  Constitution  and  Canons,"  with 
which  they  became  associated  as  a  decisive  authority 
in  matters  of  faith  and  fact  and  right.  In  this 
pseudo-Clementine  system,  St.  Peter  is  brought  for- 
ward as  the  representative  of  what  is  claimed  as  the 
original  and  pure  Christianity ;  and  the  historical  ro- 
mance is  elaborated  in  the  scene  of  the  conversion 
of  the  father,  the  mother,  and  the  brothers  of  Cle- 
ment. In  these  writings,  St.  Peter  is  reported  as  the 
sole  speaker  and  instructor,  or  the  President  of  the 
Apostolic  College.  Clement,  one  of  the  earliest 
presiding  elders  of  the  Roman  Church,  is  the  chosen 
recipient  of  the  Petrine  ordinances,  and  the  scene  is 
laid  throughout  at  Rome.  ~Now  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  any  report  or  belief  of  the  presence  of 
Peter  in  that  city,  at  a  date  anterior  to  these  writings, 
existed  in  the  Roman  Church.  It  is  just  as  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  the  tradition  took  its  origin 
from  these  writings,  as  that  they  sprang  from  a  pre- 
viously existing  and  accredited  tradition.* 

*  Cathedri  Petri.     Thos.  Greenwood,  M.  A.,  Book  iii.     Preface, 
Herzog's  Eccl.  Cyclopaedia,  article  Clementines. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  263 

Hence  it  is  seen  why,  on  the  one  hand,  we  rest  in 
the  secure  conviction  that  St.  Paul  went  a  second 
time  to  Rome,  and  why  we  believe  that  he  then  suf- 
fered martyrdom ;  and  why,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
say  to  the  claim  of  St.  Peter's  residence  and  Episco- 
pacy and  martyrdom  at  Rome,  not  proven,  and  why 
we  add  with  a  good  degree  of  conviction,  not  prob- 
able. We  have  external  contemporary  evidence  that 
Paul  left  Rome  and  returned  and  was  executed. 
We  have  internal  evidence  from  his  Epistles,  that  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  Timothy  during  a  second  imprison- 
ment, and  expected  soon  to  suffer  death.  These  are 
solid  historical  testimonies.  But  we  have  no  eviden- 
ces, equally  strong  as  we  have  seen,  external  or  inter- 
nal, to  Peter's  sojourn  at  Rome;  and  we  have  proba- 
bilities against  it  from  the  silence  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Clement,  which  amount  almost  to  a  demonstration. 

From  all  these  reasons  it  is  that  we  prefer  to  pause 
at  the  point  where  we  are  abandoned  by  clear  his- 
torical light,  and  to  be  content  with  the  conviction 
that  St.  Paul's  anticipation  of  speedy  death  was 
verified  soon  after  he  wrote  to  Timothy,  and  that 
he  was  "offered"  a  victim  and  a  martyr  to  his 
fidelity  to  his  Master.  If  we  accept  the  statement 
as  historically  true  that  he  was  incarcerated  in  the 
Mamertine  and  beheaded  at  the  Acqua  Salvice,  we 
must  do  it  on  evidence  which  just  as  positively  as- 
serts St.  Peter's  companionship  in  imprisonment  and 
death,  and  all  the  puerile  marvels  which  marked 
their  sojourn  in  prison  and  their  execution.  It  is 
believed  not  to  have  been  without  a  solemn  motive 
that  the  place  of  the  burial  of  Moses  remained  un- 
known, and  that  the  record  of  it  was  made  in  vague 
and  general  terms.  "So  Moses  the  servant  of  the 


264  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

Lord  died  there  in  the  land  of  Moab,  according  to 
the  Word  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  buried  him  in  a  valley 
of  the  land  of  Moab  over  against  Beth  Peor,  but  no 
man  knoweth  of  his  sepulcher  unto  this  day."  (Deut. 
xxxiv.  5-6.)  It  was  probably  with  a  view  to  prevent 
the  superstitious  reverence  which  would  have  been 
likely  to  have  been  rendered  to  the  spot,  and  to  the 
remains  of  Moses,  that  the  place  of  his  burial  was 
designedly  left  unknown.  And  similar  may  have 
been  the  object  of  divine  wisdom  in  the  uncertainty 
which  has  been  permitted  to  remain  as  to  the  death 
and  burial  place  of  him  who  may  not  improperly  be 
called  the  Moses  of  the  New  Dispensation.  A  carnal 
curiosity;  a  low  and  superstitious  and  irreverent 
intrusion  into  things  unrevealed ;  a  manifestation  of 
that  unspiritual  desire  "to  know  Christ  after  the 
flesh,"  when  through  the  higher  knowledge  imparted 
by  the  Spirit  it  becomes  his  disciple  "to  know"  even 
"him"  in  that  respect  "no  more;"  a  return  from  the 
privileges  of  those  who  were  permitted  to  see  the 
divine  beauty  and  meaning  of  earthly  and  outward 
ordinances  by  the  Spirit,  to  resting  on  ordinances 
for  the  Spirit; — this  relapse  of  the  church  from  the 
spirit  of  the  Apostolic  age,  at  once  led  it  to  corrupt 
the  sublime  and  spiritual  purity  of  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine, and  to  search,  as  if  for  the  most  precious  of 
divine  treasures,  for  his  bones,  and  which,  in  the 
failure  to  find  them,  gradually  converted  conjecture 
into  tradition,  and  superstitious  wishes  into  history. 
If  we  will  rightly  view  it,  there  is  something  august 
in  the  solemn  shadows  through  which  we  vaguely 
discern  the  great  Apostle,  passing  with  majestic 
peace  to  martyrdom  and  heaven ! 
As  he  disappears,  we  seem  to  see  him  pause  a 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  265 

moment,  and  with  solemn  earnestness  declare  the 
truth  which  underlies  all  his  teachings,  and  which 
the  Church  of  Eome  everywhere  reverses,  "The 
letter  killeth,  the  Spirit  giveth  life!" 


NOTE. 

THE  theologian  at  presenj  in  greatest  repute  in  Eome  is  Gio- 
vanni Perrone.  Immediately  after  the  above  lecture  was  deliv- 
ered, a  small  work  of  160  pages  was  issued  by  him,  under  the 
title  "  S.  Pietro  in  Roma,  ossia  la  verita  storica  del  viaggio  di 
S. Pietro  in  Roma"  It  is  evidently  nothing  more  than  an  en- 
larged syllabus  published  in  advance  of  an  enormous  work  upon 
the  subject,  in  the  preparation  of  which  he  is  now  engaged.  It  is 
to  be  a  companion  to  the  massive  production  of  Passaglia  on  the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin.  It  is  intended  as  a  final 
and  full  gathering  up  of  all  the  testimony  of  all  time  in  favor  of 
this  fundamental  dogma.  If  such  a  question  were  to  be  settled 
by  the  number  of  authorities  adduced  without  reference  to  their 
pertinency  to  the  real  point  in  question,  this  array  would  be  in- 
deed quite  overwhelming. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  as  illustrating  the  progress  of  opinion 
in  Italy,  that  the  work  is  prepared  in  confutation  of  another  pub- 
lished at  Turin,  as  recently  as  1861,  with  the  title  "  The  His- 
torical  Impossibility  of  the  Journey  of  St.  Peter  to  Rome  demon- 
strated by  substituting  True  for  False  Tradition" 

Before  noticing  the  sort  of  proof  which  Perrone  adduces  for 
the  fact  of  St.  Peter's  journey  to  Rome,  let  us  remember  the  im- 
portance of  the  alleged  doctrine  which  rests  upon  the  alleged 
fact.  To  the  Protestant  it  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of  importance 
to  prove  that  St.  Peter  was  not  at  Rome.  It  might  be  admitted, 
and  not  a  single  step  be  thereby  made  toward  the  demonstration 
of  the  claim  made  on  his  behalf  to  the  Vicarate  of  Christ  and 
the  Primacy  of  the  Church.  But  to  the  Romanist  it  is  essential 
that  he  should  prove  that  St.  Peter  presided  over  the  Church  at 


266  ST.  PATJL_IN   ROME. 

Eome.  On  that  assumed  fact  is  erected  the  most  important  doc- 
trine— next  to  that  of  salvation  by  the  death  of  Christ — ever  pro- 
claimed to  man.  If  true,  it  is  a  truth  on  which  the  salvation  of 
myriads  rests.  If  false,  it  is  a  portentous  falsehood,  the  evil  re- 
sults of  which  no  imagination  can  conceive.  It  rests  on  the  fact 
that  St.  Peter  was  at  Eome.  If  he  was  not  there,  it  falls  to  the 
ground,  a  convicted  and  dead  lie.  Now  it  will  be  admitted  that 
such  a  fact  should  have  proof  that  is  unimpeachable,  abundant, 
and  undoubted.  God  did  not  allow  the  proofs  of  Christ's  cruci- 
fixion and  resurrection  to  be  few  and  feeble.  They  are  abundant 
and  overwhelming.  If  he  had  intended  St.  Peter  to  be  his  vicar 
to  the  world,  with  the  seat  of  his  principate  at  Eome,  he  would 
not  have  left  the  doctrine  or  the  fact  of  so  momentous  an  ar- 
rangement in  doubt.  Of  the  doctrine  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
proof  in  the  Word  of  God.  If  it  is  conceivable  that  it  should 
have  been  left  so  utterly  without  proof,  it  is  conceivable  only  on 
the  supposition  that  the  fact  should  appear  with  indubitable 
brightness. 

Now  the  mere  fact  that  the  question  is  raised  whether  St. 
Peter  was  ever  actually  at  Eome,  preliminary  to  the  question 
whether  he  was  there  as  head  of  the  church,  is  presumptively 
damaging  to  the  claims  of  his  Episcopate  and  Headship.  And 
the  attempted  proof  of  this  alleged  fact  is  so  incidental,  infer- 
ential, remote,  and  vague,  that  even  if  one  is  constrained,  on  the 
whole,  to  accept  the  fact  of  St.  Peter's  journey  and  residence  at 
Eome,  he  would  be  equally  compelled  to  conclude  that  no  import- 
ant doctrine,  certainly  no  doctrine  of  such  transcendent  moment 
as  that  of  the  Primacy  of  St.  Peter  and  his  successors,  could  be 
allowed  to  rest  upon  a  point  proved  with  so  much  difficulty  and 
by  processes  of  argument  so  recondite,  subtle,  inferential,  and 
remote. 

And  now,  turning  to  the  work  of  Perrone,  we  find  a  chasm 
just  where  we  need  a  bridge.  Positive  assertions  of  St.  Peter's 
residence  at  Eome  from  and  after  Irenaeus,  about  180  A.  D.,  we 
find  in  abundance ;  but  the  proof  or  the  assertion  of  this  fact, 
from  intermediate  authors,  is  altogether  wanting.  The  attempt  to 
wring  out  of  expressions  which  are  merely  incidental  in  Clement 
of  Eome,  and  Ignatius,  such  a  testimony,  is  an  utter  failure.  Cle- 
ment, in  the  way  of  narrative  and  exhortation,  in  his  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  uses  the  general  expression  that  we  have  seen 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  267 

with  our  own  eyes  good  Apostles  suffer  martyrdom.  He  does 
not  say  which  Apostles.  Nor  does  the  language  imply,  of  neces- 
sity, an  actual  ocular  view  by  the  Romans  and  by  them  alone. 
He  is  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  and  he  says,  we  have  seen  among 
us.  Writing,  as  he  does,  in  a  practical  way  to  the  Corinthians, 
and  using  the  words  we  and  among  us,  the  words  may  well  be  be- 
lieved to  mean  no  more  than  if  be  had  written  thus:  "I  have 
spoken  to  you  of  the  example  of  the  ancient  faithful  men  who 
have  died  from  persecuting  hatred.  But  let  us  turn  to  our  own 
times.  In  our  own  day,  we,  i.e.  the  men  of  this  generation,  have 
seen  faithful  Apostles  martyred." 

He  then  proceeds  to  speak  of  Peter.  He  suffered  and  died 
from  persecution.  Bat  Clement  does  not  mention  where  he  suf- 
fered. On  this  exceedingly  small  basis  rests  the  alleged  proof 
of  the  one  only  testimony  which  is  ever  claimed  to  be  contempo- 
raneous, of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.  The  alleged 
testimony  of  Ignatius  is  equally  unsatisfactory. 

That  the  importance  of  this  fact  to  the  Romish  system  has  not 
been  overstated,  will  appear  from  the  declaration  of  Perrone  him- 
self. The  author  of  the  work  which  he  attempts  to  confute,  as- 
serts that  some  Catholic  writers  have  declared  that  St.  Peter  was 
never  at  Rome.  Perrone  says  that  this  is  impossible.  None  but 
apostate  Catholics  could  have  made  such  an  assertion.  And 
why  ?  Because  they  become  apostate  by  making  it.  "  The  reason 
of  this  fact,"  viz.,  that  no  Catholic  could  have  made  this  assertion, 
"  is  that  the  coming  of  St.  Peter  in  Rome  and  the  seat  there  es- 
tablished by  him  is  connected  as  the  indispensable  condition  with 
an  article  of  our  faith,  that  is,  the  primacy  of  order  and  jurisdic- 
tion belonging  of  divine  right  to  the  Roman  Pontiff.  Hence  it 
follows  that  he  cannot  be  a  Catholic  who  does  not  admit  the 
coming,  the  Episcopate,  and  the  death  of  St.  Peter  in  Rome." — 
Page  32. 


LECTUEE  XII. 

THE    CLAIM    OP    THE    CHURCH    OF   ROME    TO    SANCTITY, 
INFALLIBILITY,  AND    UNITY   CONSIDERED. 

But  he  said,  Yea,  rather  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God, 
and  keep  it. — LUKE,  xi.  28. 

ON  Sunday  evening  last  I  heard,  and  some  of  you 
heard,  disparaging  reference  made  to  the  word  of 
God,  by  the  distinguished  Romish  divine  who  is 
now  preaching  a  series  of  Lenten  sermons  in  a 
neighboring  church.  Those  Christians  were — I  was 
about  to  say — ridiculed,  who  believe  in  and  rely  upon 
a  book  for  divine  truth  and  life.  At  the  same  time 
that  this  reliance  upon  a  book  for  authority  in  sacred 
things  was  censured,  appeals  were  constantly  made 
to  a  book  as  if  it  were  a  final  and  absolute  authority 
upon  all  questions  of  faith  and  practice.  The  book 
against  reliance  upon  which  we  were  warned  was 
the  Word  of  Grod.  The  book  which  was  quoted  to 
settle  our  faith  and  secure  our  assent  was  one  of  St. 
Augustine.  While  cautioned  not  to  rely  upon  the 
Word,  we  were  invited  to  believe  in  the  one  holy, 
illuminated,  infallible  present  Church  of  Rome.  It 
was  §aid  to  us  in  substance,  "Deluded,  miserable, 
without  the  covenant,  without  grace,  without  the 
promises,  without  the  divine  life,  are  those  who  rely 
upon  the  Bible.  Hear  and  believe  the  teachings  of 
the  Papal  Church." 

Such  were  the  words  which  fell  on  our  ears  on 
Sunday  last.  To-day,  from  the  ascended  Son  of 
(268) 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  269 

man,  from  the  enthroned  Son  of  God,  from  the 
founder  and  teacher  of  the  church,  from  Him  who 
is  the  truth  as  well  as  the  way  and  the  life,  and 
from  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  itself,  which  is  to  guide 
the  souls  of  men  into  all  truth,  proceeds,  who  surely 
knew  what  we  were  to  hear  and  upon  what  we  should 
rely;  to-day,  in  the  Gospel  for  the  day,  these  pre- 
cious words  come  to  our  ears,  and  we  take  them  to 
our  heart  of  hearts,  "Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  and  keep  it!"  Dear  Master!  having 
thy  blessing  in  hearing  and  keeping  the  Word  of 
God,  we  need  fear  no  man's  ridicule  or  anathema 
for  doing  that  which  wins  thy  benediction.  "I  wot 
that  he  whom  thou  blessest  is  blest!" 

The  question  of  the  relative  position  of  the  church 
and  the  "Word  of  God  is  most  interesting  and  import- 
ant. It  is  so  quite  irrespective  of  the  claims  of  the 
Church  of  Home.  It  has  often  been  inquired  "which 
was  first,  the  church  or  the  Word?"  and  very  im- 
portant results  have  been  supposed  to  depend  upon 
the  answer.  If  the  reply  is,  "The  church  was  first," 
then  it  has  been  inferred  that  it  was  the  prerogative 
of  the  church  to  interpret  the  Word.  If  the  answer 
be,  "The  Word  was  first,"  then  it  has  been  con- 
cluded that  it  is  the  office  of  the  Word  to  teach  the 
church.  ISTow,  although  I  do  not  see  that  these  in- 
ferences logically  follow  their  respective  premises, 
and  though  I  do  not  therefore  attach  much  import- 
ance to  the  inquiry,  yet,  as  a  fact,  I  think  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  the  Word  was  first,  and  that  the 
church  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Word,  administered 
by  the  Spirit.  When  God  called  Abram,  and  he  heard 
and  kept  the  Divine  Word — then  in  him,  the  father 
of  the  faithful,  the  germ  of  the  patriarchal  church 

34 


270  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

was  formed.  The  Word  summoning,  and  through 
the  Spirit  creating  the  church, — such  was  the  pro- 
cess. When  God  called  Moses,  and  he  heard  and 
kept  the  Word — then  by  the  Word  was  the  Jewish 
church  begun.  The  twelve  became  the  founders  of 
the  Christian  church  by  being  first  obedient  to  the 
words  of  Jesus.  As  the  creation  was  evolved  into 
order  under  light  by  the  power  of  God,  so  the  church 
assumed  its  form  under  the  light  of  the  Word,  min- 
istered by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

It  is  a,  question  more  practical  and  important — 
"What  is  the  relation  of  the  church  to  the  Word?" 
To  this  question  it  seems  to  me  there  can  be  but  one 
answer  for  him  who  takes  for  his  authority  the 
founder  of  the  church,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Its 
office  is  not  certainly  to  disparage,  not  to  hide,  but 
to  dispense  the  Word  of  God.  The  Saviour's  last 
solemn  commission  to  his  disciples  before  his  ascen- 
sion was  this,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned."  St.  Paul,  taught  of  Jesus,  said 
for  himself  that  he  determined  to  know  nothing 
among  his  disciples  but  Christ,  and  him  crucified; 
and  his  son  Timothy  he  exhorted  with  intense  ear- 
nestness, as  if  it  were  the  one  work  which  he  was  to 
do — "preach  the  Word;  be  instant  in  season  and 
out  of  season;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort."  And 
everywhere  the  conviction,  illumination,  and  sanc- 
tification  of  the  heart  is  made  dependent  upon  the 
Word  of  God,  administered  by  the  Spirit.  Not  of 
the  personal  Word,  the  Son  of  God,  as  was  said  on 
Sunday  last,  but  plainly  of  the  written  Word  is  it  de- 
clared that  it  "is  quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  a 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  271 

two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner 
of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."  "Being 
born  again,"  says  ST.  PETER!!  "not  of  corruptible 
seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  Word  of  God  which 
liveth  and  abidelh  forever."  St.  Peter  did  not  speak 
disparagingly  of  the  Word.  St.  Paul  commended 
the  Ephesians  to  God,  and  to  the  Word  of  his  truth, 
which  was  able  to  build  them  up.  "The  Gospel  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  Is  one  baptized? 
It  is  when  listening  to  the  Word  he  becomes  peni- 
tent. Does  one  commemorate  the  Saviour's  dying 
love?  It  is  because  he  obeys  the  Divine  Word 
which  says,  "Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me!" 
Does  one  go  into  the  house  of  God?  It  is  that  he 
may  worship  according  to  the  teachings  of  the  Word, 
and  listen  to  that  right  dividing  of  the  truth  which 
will  furnish  him  his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season. 
Hence,  as  the  church  is  established  for  dispensing 
the  Word  of  God,  its  function  is  gone  when  that 
duty  ceases  to  be  discharged.  Established  for  that 
purpose,  of  what  use  is  it  when  that  purpose  is  not 
accomplished?  The  church,  according  to  the  defi- 
nition of  our  article,  is  the  keeper  and  witness  of 
the  Holy  Writ.  It  is  her  privilege  to  keep,  and  her 
duty  to  dispense  the  Word.  Hence,  the  Word  is 
greater  than  the  church,  even  when  she  truly  keeps 
and  truly  proclaims  it;  and,  of  course,  immeasurably 
greater  when  she  neither  holds  nor  dispenses  the 
truth  of  God,  but  proclaims  only  error.  When  the, 
Jewish  church  made  void  the  law  of  God  by  its  tra- 
ditions, how  did  God  regard  it,  and  what  did  he  do 
with  it?  He  abhorred  it,  and  scattered  it,  and  de- 
stroyed it;  but  the  Word  of  God  liveth  and  abideth 


272  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

forever.  That  Word  itself — the  prophetic  Word — 
smote  the  apostate  Jewish  church ;  and  another  pro- 
phetic word  is  hovering  over,  and  will  in  its  ap- 
pointed time  strike  and  destroy  the  second  great 
apostacy. 

Great  and  precious  therefore  as  is  the  church  of 
God,  and  high  as  is  its  function,  as  that  which  holds 
the  water  of  life,  and  dispenses  it  for  the  souls  of 
men,  yet  if,  in  some  other  way,  that  water  of  life 
shall  reach  some  thirsty  soul,  that  soul  shall  live. 
Far  off  in  the  mountains  is  the  source  of  the  "Aqua 
Claudia."      If  the  citizens  of  Rome  had  no  other 
supply  of  water  but  this,  then  how  precious  to  them 
would  be  the  aqueduct,  and  the  reservoirs,  and  the 
conduits,  which  should  convey  it  to  them,  and  keep 
them  from  perishing  by  thirst.      Then  how  glori- 
ously grand  would  seem  to  them  the  far-stretching 
arches  that  conveyed  it;  and  how  exquisitely  beau- 
tiful the  castelli  that  inclosed  it;  and  how  musical 
and  refreshing  would  be  the  flow,  and  the  spray,  and 
the  sparkle  of  the  fountains !    But  even  then  it  would 
not  be  the  aqueduct,  and  the  reservoir,  and  the  foun- 
tains, but  the  water,  that  would  quench  their  thirst 
and  save  them  from  perishing.      If  the  aqueduct 
should  be  destroyed  and  the  water  should  be  brought 
to  them  some  other  way,  they  would  not  perish. 
Such  is  the  function  of  the  church  of  God.     It  is 
the  established  agency  by  which  the  truth  of  God 
is  brought  to  the  perishing  souls  of  men.      It  is 
•lovely  and  majestic  to  the  eye  of  those  who  drink 
and  live.     They  walk  about  this  Zion ;  they  count 
its  towers;  they  breathe  upon  it  the  blessing,  "peace 
be  within  thy  walls!"     They  love  it  for  what  it  is; 
they  bless  it  for  what  it  gives.    Its  prosperity  is  their 


ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME.  273 

joy;  its  adversity  is  their  sorrow.  If  it  is  broken 
down,  they  thirst,  they  faint,  they  pine;  but  if  the 
water  of  life  be  brought  to  them  in  some  other  way, 
directly  from  the  source,  they  do  not  die,  but  live. 
Thus  is  held,  in  most  revered  and  loving  estimation, 
the  church  of  God,  because  it  dispenses  the  living 
and  life-giving  Word.  And  when  the  church  ceases 
to  perform  this,  its  appropriate  function, — what  is 
it?  Behold  the  majestic  ruins  of  the  Claudian  aque- 
duct, as  it  stretches  its  broken  and  picturesque  and 
festooned  arches  over  the  Campagna,  and  climbs  the 
imperial  hill;  behold  the  shapeless  mass  of  the 
Meta  Sudens ;  and  in  them,  long  dry,  and  empty,  be- 
hold a  symbol  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  it  stretches 
in  broken  grandeur  over  the  centuries  of  time! 
]N"ay,  the  symbol  is  not  complete;  for  from  those 
arches  no  poisoning  dew  distils  to  blight  the  grass 
beneath;  and  from  that  silent  fountain  issue  no  pes- 
tilential vapors ! 

Such  we  believe  to  be,  on  the  authority  of  Christ 
himself,  the  true  relation  of  the  church  of  God  to 
the  Word  of  God.  But  the  system  which  prevails 
in  the  Church  of  Rome  is  quite*  another;  and  was 
stated  on  Sunday  last  in  a  way  which,  I  am  told, 
seemed  to  some  minds  plausible  and  attractive.  So 
far  as  the  discourse  to  which  I  refer  expounded  the 
relation  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Sacred  Trinity 
— so  far  as  it  explained,  in  general  terms,  the  office 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  its  procession  from  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  and  in  its  sanctifying,  illuminating,  and 
comforting  influences,  it  appealed  to  the  conviction 
and  experience  of  all  true  Christian  hearts.  But 
when  the  attempt  was  made  to  show  that  all  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  limited  to  the 


274  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

I  church,  which  was  itself  limited  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Homan  obedience ;  then  who  could  fail  pain- 
fully to  feel  the  deplorable  degradation  to  which  the 
blessed  Paraclete  was  subjected?  How  vain  the  at- 
tempt to  show  that,  either  in  just  theory  or  in  fact, 
its  broad  and  blessed  agency  is  so  cribbed,  cabined, 
and  confined !  Ah !  as  well  might  the  Pope  and  his 
cardinals  and  priests  stand  at  the  door  of  St.  Peter's 
and  gather  the  sunshine  that  irradiates  the  world 
into  their  hands,  and  put  it  in  St.  Peter's,  and  lock 
it  up  and  leave  the  world  in  darkness — as  shut  up 
the  light  of  the  world,  which  Christ  manifested  by 

V  the  Spirit,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Papal  Church ! 
The  assumption  of  the  discourse  was,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit,  acting  only  in  and  through  the  church, 
reproduces  in  her  its  own  essential  nature  and  char- 
acteristics. Being  essential  light,  it  conveys  to  the 
church  illumination,  and  thus  becomes  the  world's 
guide.  The  Spirit  of  Holiness — it  makes  the  church, 
like  itself,  holy,  unchangeable,  and  indefectible;  it 
imparts  to  the  church  infallibility.  One  and  uniform, 
it  gives  to  the  one  church  one  system  of  sacred  truth. 
' '  Holiness , ' '  c i  illumination, "  "  infallibility, "  "  unity,  inte- 
rior as  wdl  as  exterior," — these  are  the  gifts,  the  reflex 
and  repetition  of  itself,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  im- 
parts to  the  church, — and  that  church  is  the  Church 
of  Rome !  I  do  not  know  that  it  would  be  going 
beyond  the  extremely  strong  expressions  which  were 
used  in  this  connection  if  it  should  be  said  that  the 
representation  of  the  doctrine  was,  that  as  God  the 
Word  was  incarnate  in  Jesus,  so  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  embodied  in  the  church. 

IsTow  if  it  were  proved  or  capable  of  proof  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  promised  to  produce  such  results  in 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  275 

a  body  upon  earth,  called  the  church,  it  would  be  no 
difficult  task  to  show  that  assuredly  they  have  not 
been  realized  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

I.  The  Spirit  whose  name  is  Holy  must  transfer  to 
the  body  its  own  holiness;  and  one  prominent  mark 
of  the  church  is  therefore  claimed  to  be  "sanctity" 
What  is  holiness  or  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit?  "The 
fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  says  the  Word,  inspired  by  the 
Spirit,  sent  from  the  ascended  head  of  the  church, 
"  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness,  temperance."  But  it  is  said 
that  nowhere  but  in  the  church  does  the  Holy  Ghost 
pour  its  influences  and  produce  its  fruit.  Only  in 
the  Papal  Church  may  we  find  sanctity.  The  limb 
cut  off  from  the  body  cannot  partake  of  the  life  that 
pervades  the  body.  Now  in  connection  with  this 
declaration,  and  the  Holy  Spirit's  own  definition  of 
sanctity,  some  conclusions  must  be  drawn  which  are 
fatal  to  the  exclusive  claims  of  Rome. 

It  appears  as  a  fact  beyond  all  possibility  of  denial, 
that  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  described  by  the  Spirit, 
does  appear  in  those  who,  according  to  Rome,  are 
cut  off  from  the  body.  Take  the  catalogue  and 
compare  it  with  what  is  found  in  the  hearts  of  Chris- 
tians, of  various  names,  and  you  will  find  the  living 
graces  and  the  description  to  correspond.  "We 
know,  and  are  agreed,  as  to  what  Christian  love,  as  a 
grace  of  heart,  is ;  for  Rome  and  other  churches  do 
not  differ  in  their  definition  of  Christian  love,  as  it 
is  a  subjective  and  individual  grace;  and  that  love 
is  in  your  heart,  my  brother !  and  fellow-Protestant 
against  the  Church  of  Rome.  "Joy,  peace,  long- 
suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance," — I  find  them  all,  in  a  degree,  equal 


276  ST.  PAUL   IN    ROME. 

surely  to  that  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  Rome,  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  are,  by  Rome,  said  to  be  cut  off  from  the  body, 
and  therefore  without  holy  life.  The  fact  is  beyond 
all  possible  doubt  or  denial.  What  can  be  done 
with  it  by  the  Church  of  Rome?  Let  it  be  turned 
and  dealt  with  as  it  may,  it  is,  on  any  disposition 
which  she  can  make  of  it,  absolutely  fatal  to  her 
claims. 

(1)  Does  she  deny  that  these  graces  of  the  Spirit 
are  in  the  hearts  of  Protestants  ?     Then  is  she  wanting 
in  truth  and  charity,  declaring  that  what  are  graces 
of  the  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  Romanists,  cease  to  be 
so  when  they  are  seen,  in  their  same  essential  quali- 
ties, and  in  their  same  outward  tokens,  in  the  hearts 
of  Protestants;  and  thus  failing  in  truth  and  charity, 
which   are   the  very  elements  of  holiness,   she   is 
void  of  the  most  important  mark  of  the  church — 
sanctity. 

(2)  Or  does  she  admit  that  these  graces  enume- 
rated by  St.  Paul  are  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  are 
cut  off  from  the  body,  but  that  they  do  not  consti- 
tute holiness?     Does"  she  say  that  there  are  other 
graces  different  from  these  which  constitute  sanctity, 
and  that  these  do  not?    and  that  these  graces  are 
implicit  and  submissive  faith  in  the   church,  and 
others  of  the  same  character?     Then  does  she  make 
void  the  law  of  God  by  her  traditions,  and  subject 
herself  to  the  same  withering  rebukes  of  the  Master, 
as  those  with  which  he  visited  the  apostate  Jewish 
church  ? 

(3)  Or  does  she  admit  that  these  graces  may  be  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  are  cut  off  from  the  body, 
through  the  rich,  nn covenanted,  overflowing  mer- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  277 

cies  of  the  compassionate  Redeemer;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  the  church,  i.e.  the  Papal  Church,  is  the 
only  appointed,  authoritative,  and  sure  receptacle  in 
which  they  are  to  be  found?  Then  the  position  is 
abandoned  that  the  limb  severed  is  necessarily  dead; 
and  the  admission  is  made  that  divine  life  can  be 
obtained  apart  from  the  body. 

(4)  Or  again,  is  it,  on  the  contrary,  stoutly  denied 
that  sanctity  can  be  found  anywhere  but  in  the 
church;  the  one  body  organized  by  Christ,  and  vivi- 
fied by  the  Spirit?  Then  must  we,  who  exhibit 
sanctity,  i.e.  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  Spirit,  constitute  holiness,  be  in  that 
body  where  alone  that  sanctity  is  found.  If  that 
body  be  not  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  she  is  not  a 
part  of  it,  so  much  the  worse  for  her. 

Thus,  if  we  take  this  claim  to  exclusive  sanctity 
for  the  body,  which  is  all  along  claimed  to  be  the 
Papal  Church,  in  connection  with  the  Holy  Spirit's 
own  definition  of  sanctity — a  definition  admitted  in 
its  application  to  the  individual,  by  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  which  cannot  be  denied  without  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Ghost, — we  find  that  the 
Word  of  God,  the  disparaged  Word,  utterly  annihi- 
lates the  pretensions  of  the  church.  No  wonder  that 
it  is  disparaged. 

The  truth  is,  that  this  pretension  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  to  be  the  exclusive  depository  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  can  be  sustained  only  bjr  denying  the  very 
nature  of  holiness,  as  it  is  defined  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  cannot  be  admitted  to  be  what  St.  Paul  describes 
it ;  for  then  must  the  fatal  concession  follow  that  it 
is  found  outside  the  church.  Accordingly  we  find 
that  it  can  exist  as  a  nameless  something  when  it  is 

35 


278  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

.  utterly  void  of  all  moral  or  spiritual  quality.  Grace, 
'  or  holiness,  conveyed  by  the  sacraments,  reaches, 
and  is  infused  into  all  who  partake  of  them.  It  is 
not  in  you  who  love  God,  rely  upon  your  Saviour, 
enjoy  spiritual  communion  with  the  Father  of  your 
spirit,  and  exhibit  in  your  daily  life,  love,  forgive- 
ness, meekness,  temperance, — it  is  not  in  you,  be- 
cause you  are  not  where  it  can  be  obtained.  But  it 
is  in  the  brigand,  who  is  now  watching  for  lives  in 
the  mountains  of  Southern  Italy,  because  he  is  in 
union  with  the  body,  and  draws  from  it  this  myste- 
rious sanctity,  and  adores  the  Virgin,  and  obeys  the 
church.  What  is  it?  A  new  spiritual  nature  ?  Nay, 
the  first  glimmer  of  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  him ! 
Is  it  knowledge  ?  He  is  absolutely  ignorant.  Is  it 
holy  love?  His  heart  is  full  of  hate,  and  has  only 
some  instinctive  natural  affections.  Is  it  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
and  temperance?  The  dog  that  follows  him  has 
scarcely  less  of  any  of  these  qualities  than  he!  I  do 
by  no  means  deny — I  rejoice  to  be  assured — that 
there  is  genuine  spiritual  life, — real  sanctity, — in  the 
hearts  of  many  members  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
But  this  too — this  nameless  infused  grace,  which 
has  no^ spiritual  or  even  moral  quality — which  may 
exist,  nay,  which  must  exist,  in  the  heart  of  this  bri- 
gand-member of  the  church;  this  sacred  galvanism 
which  informs  souls  that  are  utterly  vile  and  evil; 
this  too  is  holiness,  and  the  spirit  exhibited  by  Henry 
Martyn,  by  Heber,  by  the  Dairyman's  daughter, 
was  not  holiness.  Oh  how  strange  it  is  that  such 
astounding  absurdities  can  be  believed !  How  awful 
it  is  that  such  blasphemies  against  the  Holy  Ghost 
should  be  uttered  by  the  church  which  professes  to 


ST.  PAUL    IN   ROME.  279 

embody  it,  to  be  its  sole  organ  of  expression  upon 
earth !  How  sad  that  such  a  system  should  entangle 
and  bring  down  a  high  and  gifted  spirit,  once  hon- 
ored and  beloved  in  a  pure  and  scriptural  church ! 
Alas!  that  we  should  be  compelled  of  this  bright 
and  beautiful  mind  to  reverse  the  language  of  the 
Psalmist:  "Though  ye  were  as  the  wings  of  a  dove 
covered  with  silver,  and  her  feathers  with  yellow 
gold,  .yet  are  ye  now  lying  among  the  pots!" 

II.  But  it  is  to  the  church  as  a  whole,  in  her  corpo- 
rate capacity,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  imparts  its  power, 
and  therefore  in  its  function  as  a  church,  we  are  to 
discover  the  most  striking  evidences  of  a  sanctity 
that  is  but  a  reflex  of  the  holiness  of  its  source. 
The  moon  receives  light  from  the  sun,  and  none  the 
less  is  it  a  pure  and  completed  rounded  light  because 
some  spots  maybe  discerned  upon  the  surface.  Let 
us  see ! 

The  Saviour  declared  that  "His  kingdom  was  not 
of  this  world."  Those  of  whom  it  was  composed 
were,  according  to  St.  Peter,  "a  chosen  generation, 
a  royal  priesthood,  a  peculiar  people."  The  mode 
in  which  it  was  to  be  made  a  glorious  church  is  thus 
stated  by  St.  Paul.  "  That  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it  by  the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word,  that 
he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church, 
without  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing."  Said  the 
founder  of  this  kingdom,  "If  my  kingdom  were  of 
this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight."  A  king- 
dom not  of  this  world ;  a  peculiar,  separated  people ; 
a  body  which  would  be  made  glorious  by  the  wash- 
ing of  water  by  the  Word ;  and  in  which  there  could 
be  no  exercise  of  civil  power,  even  for  self-preser- 
vation, without  a  perversion  and  degradation  of  its 


280  ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME. 

high,  and  holy  functions.  Such  was  the  holy  king- 
dom of  our  Lord  as  described  by  himself  and  by 
those  whom  he  inspired.  This  is  now  the  holy 
church,  the  body  in  which  the  Spirit's  sanctity  re- 
sides, and  from  which  it  emanates.  Is  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  its  corporate  capacity  and  its  action  such 
a  church? 

St.  Peter,  in  the  context  in  which  4ie  dwells  upon 
the  separateness  and  sanctity  of  the  holy  nation,  en- 
joins upon  it  submission  to  the  civil  powers.  "  Sub- 
mit," says  St.  Peter,  "to  the  king  as  supreme,"  and 
the  pretended  successor  of  St.  Peter  replies,  "I  am 
myself  POPE-KING  !"  "Submit,"  says  St.  Peter,  "to 
the  king,"  and  the  pretended  successor  of  St.  Peter 
seems  to  have  read  it,  "Make  all  kings  submit  to 
you."  Hence  his  kingdom  is,  whatever  else  it  may 
be,  a  kingdom  of  this  world,  which  the  Saviour  de- 
clared that  his  kingdom  was  not.  Again  said  the 
Master  and  the  founder  of  the  kingdom,  "The 
princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them 
and  they  that  are  great  exercise  authority  upon  them. 
But  it  shall  not  be  so  among  you."  It  is  so  with  that 
body  which  is  claimed  to  be  the  exclusive  depository 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  exercises  dominion  and  au- 
thority precisely  as  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  do. 
It  has  assumed,  in  addition  to  its  spiritual,  civil  func- 
tions. The  church,  which  was  to  be  made  glorious  by 
the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word,  is  glorious  with 
church  edifices,  rich  in  marble  and  gems  and  gold; 
with  glittering  priestly  vestments;  with  elaborate 
ceremonies;  with  gorgeous  carriages  and  liveried 
servants  ;  with  palaces  and  basilicas  and  halls  of  art 
which  put  to  shame  the  poor  pomp  of  emperors  and 
kings ;  with  all  the  officials  of  a  human  court  and  with 


ST.  PAUL   IN   ROME.  281 

the  armed  servants  that  will  fight  that  their  master 
be  not  delivered  up  to  his  enemies.  The  hishops  of 
this  holy  body,  the  successors  of  those  to  whom  the 
Master's  injunction  was  "teach  and  preach;  give 
yourselves  wholly  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word," 
many  of  them  never  teach  or  preach  at  all,  but  they 
ride  in  stately  carriages ;  they  take  part  in  church 
and  state  ceremonials;  they  are  at  the  head  of,  or  in 
the  council  for  managing  the  war  department,  the 
treasury  department,  the  department  of  agriculture, 
and  public  instruction  and  the  police ;  they  superin- 
tend the  administration  of  the  lottery  and  the  thea- 
ters. And  this  is  the  great  appropriate  work  of  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church!  This  is  that  power  which 
she  declares  is  essential  to  her  existence  and  to  the 
right  discharge  of  her  high  functions  in  the  world. 
And  these  are  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
from  that  one  body  in  which  it  is  enshrined  and  to 
which  it  is  confined.  Others,  which  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  recognize  as  breathings  of  that  Holy 
Spirit,  whose  emblem  is  the  dove,  are  found  in  those 
anathemas  which  sound  so  like  angry  maledictions; 
in  those  persecutions  of  heretics  which  are  so  little 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Divine  Master  who  poured  his 
compassionate  lamentations  over  infatuated  Jerusa- 
lem; and  in  that  withdrawal  of  the  Word  of  God 
from  the  people,  and  that  disparagement  of  its  sacred 
and  sanctifying  office,  which  is  a  direct  denial  of  the 
Master's  saying,  "Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  and  keep  it."  But  while  Borne  re- 
mains what  she  is  we  wonder  not  that  she  does  not 
love  the  Book!  If  this  Word  be  true,  if  the  Holy 
Ghost  speaks  through  it  to  the  world  and  to  the 
church,  then  the  voice  which  we  hear  from  the  Pa- 


282  ST.  PAUL    IN    HOME. 

pacy  is  not  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.  She  is  compelled 
to  claim  a  monopoly  of  holiness  and  to  deny  that 
there  is  any  other  in  the  world,  or  from  the  Bible, 
except  as  it  is  dispensed  by  her;  for  the  Bible  itself, 
and  all  else  in  the  world  which  claims  to  be  holiness, 
on  its  authority,  unite  in  declaring  that  much  of  her 
boasted  exclusive  holiness  is  secularity  and  sin. 

III.  (1)  It  is  claimed  that  the  Holy  Ghost  imparts 
also  to  the  one  body  its  own  illumination  and  infalli- 
bility. It  makes  the  church  infallibly  to  receive  and 
infallibly  to  teach  the  truth.  The  body  thus  inter- 
penetrated and  assimilated  by  the  Spirit  cannot  hold 
or  proclaim  error.  Hence  it  always  holds,  and  al- 
ways must  have  held,  all  the  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth.  This  claim  was  advanced  in  all  its  full- 
ness. And  certainly  if  the  premises  be  admitted, 
the  conclusion  cannot  be  denied.  If  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  only  to  sanctify  the  souls  of 
men  and  keep  in  the  world  a  church  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail,  but  also  so  to 
transfer  itself  to  the  church  as  to  make  it  incapable, 
like  itself,  of  error;  and  if  the  body  to  which  it 
thus  transforms  itself  is  the  Papal  Church,  then  it 
indeed  follows  that  the  church  thus  illuminated  is 
infallible,  both  in  receiving  and  teaching  the  truth 
of  God.  I  do  not  now  pause  to  consider  whether 
such  a  gift  was  promised  to  the  body.  It  was,  in  the 
discourse  alluded  to,  assumed  that  it  was;  and  it 
might  be  as  readily  assumed  that  it  was  not.  It  is 
sufficient  to  show  that,  whether  promised  or  not,  it 
is  not  in  the  possession  of  the  body  by  which  it  is 
claimed.  If  the  Holy  Spirit  transfers  itself  to  the 
church  in  its  full  illumination,  then  as  the  spirit 
never  holds  only  a  part  of  truth,  and  never  progresses 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  283 

in  knowledge,  but  is  always  the  same,  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  forever,  it  must  of  necessity  have  at  once 
led  the  church  into  all  truth.  There  can  be  no 
place  for  doctrines  of  development  and  of  gradual 
illuminations  in  connection  with  such  a  statement. 
"We  take  it  in  its  full  and  emphatic  and  unlimited 
form  in  which  it  was  made.  If,  indeed,  the  church 
is  claimed  to  be  made  infallible,  that  claim  of  itself 
involves  the  ever-present  possession  of  all  the  truth. 
Hence  this  body,  the  Papal  Church,  must  have  al- 
ways held  precisely  the  same  one  complete  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints. 

(2)  What  a  singular   claim  to  be  made  for  the? 
Church  of  Rome !     The   Emperor  Augustus   said 
that  he   should   think  that  two  Augurs   meeting 
together  in  the  exercise  of  their  pretended  func-  / 
tions  of  divination  from  the  entrails  of  sacrificed  « 
victims,  must   needs   laugh  in  each  other's  faces.  '/ 
One  would  suppose- that  an  advocate  of  the  Church 
of   Rome   could   scarcely  advance  this  pretension 
without  a  smile.     For  from  the  days  of  the   first 
Clement,  Bishop  of  Rome,  from  his  own  pure  and 
Paul-like  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  to  the  days  of  the   ' 
present  Pope,  the  student  of  history  can  trace  every  ' 
succeeding  step  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  error 
until   the   church   of  the    nineteenth   century   be- 
comes  as   little  like  the   church  of  the   first   and 
second  centuries  as  the  worship  of  the  High  Places 
by  apostate  Israel  was  like  that  of  the  tabernacle 
in  the  wilderness.     He  can  run  his  hand  down  the 
chart   of  history   and    mark  the   successive    steps  / 
from    bad    to    worse.       Here    commemoration    of 
the   dead  became   prayers  for  them.     Here  what 
had  commenced  as  honors  for  the  saints  and  mar- 


284  ST.  PAUL    IX    ROME. 

tyrs  became  prayers  to  them.  Here  commenced 
;  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.  Here  the  claims  of  the 
/  Pope  to  the  headship  of  the  church  were  first  hinted 
i  and  here  they  were  advanced.  Here  Purgatory. 
Here  transubstantiation.  Here  masses  for  the  dead 
for  money.  And  here,  last  of  all,  the  Immaculate 
Conception.  And  yet,  in  the  face  of  historical 
monuments  which  verify  these  changes,  which  are 
just  as  authentic  as  anything  in  history,  the  claim  is 
gravely  advanced  that  the  Papal  Church  has  always 
been  unchangeable,  because  infallible.  All  the  time 
infallible,  and  yet  not  teaching  in  one  century  an 
^  article  of  faith  essential  to  salvation  which  she  pro- 
claimed as  such  in  the  century  following.  All  the 
time  infallible,  and  yet  one  infallibility  at  Rome  and 
'  another  at  Avignon,  and  both  infallibilities  infalli- 
bly anathematizing  the  other;  and  the  church  not 
yet  agreed  as  to  who  was  truly  Pope.  But  we  need 
not  go  back  to  history  to  show  kow  infallibility  has 
faltered  and  been  at  fault  for  eighteen  centuries! 
Look  at  the  new  column  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion !*  Listen  to  its  testimony  !  What  does  it  say  ?  It 
gives  distinctly  to  the  churches  and  world  this  testi- 
mony :  "I  proclaim  that  for  eighteen  hundred  years, 
the  church  which  professes  to  hold  and  dispense  all 
truth,  has  been  without  this  saving  article  of  faith, 
this  article  necessary  to  be  received  on  the  pain  of 
damnation.  The  body  which  accepts  truth  from  the 
spirit  has  waited  eighteen  hundred  years  before  it 
has  accepted  this.  The  children  of  the  church  have 
been  robbed  for  centuries  of  this  essential  truth. 
Who  knows  how  many  other  essential  truths  neces- 
sary to  salvation  there  may  be  which  the  Spirit  has 

*  Piazza  di  Spagna. 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  285 

been  struggling  to  present,  and  which  the  church 
does  not  yet  accept,  and  may  be  eighteen  hundred 
years  more  in  learning!"  So  does  that  column,  in- 
tended to  commemorate  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, stand  a  perpetual  witness  to  the  falsity  of  the 
pretensions  of  the  church  to  changelessness  and  in- 
fallibility. And  oh !  if  the  marble  lips  of  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mother  which  crowns  that  column 
could  speak,  if  her  spirit  could  visit  earth  and  be 
heard  from  the  elevation  to  which  an  idolatrous 
homage  has  lifted  her,  even  above  her  divine  Son, 
how  would  she  cry  out  in  the  anguish  of  deprecation 
to  her  infatuated  followers  to  cease  that  awful  idol- 
atry of  a  lowly  creature,  who  mingles  with  the 
throngs  that  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne; 
and  was  highly  favored  on  earth  only  because  she 
was  permitted  to  be  very  near  in  love  and  service 
to  her  divine  Redeemer  Son;  is  blessed  now  in 
heaven  only  in  that  she  can  sing  with  all  the  ran- 
somed the  new  song  to  Him  who  has  washed  her  and 
redeemed  her  in  His  blood !  There  is  a  feeling  of 
inexpressible  tenderness,  sympathy,  and  reverence 
among  Protestant  hearts  toward  the  Virgin  Mother 
of  our  Lord;  because  they  know  that  if  she  could 
be  cognizant  of  what  transpires  on  earth,  and  sor- 
row could  enter  heaven,  her  holy  and  loving  heart 
would  be  torn  with  anguish  at  the  awful  idolatry 
which  renders  to  her  the  homage  due  only  to  her 
divine  Son  and  Lord. 

(3)  This  pretended  infallibility  of  the  church  is 
assumed  on  the  ground  of  its  necessity.  A  living  in- 
fallible teacher  for  the  church  is  announced  to  be  a 
self-evident  need.  The  Master  says  not  so.  The 
Word  administered  by  the  Spirit — this  is  provided, 

36 


286  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

and  no  intimation  is  given  that  anything  more  or 
other  is  needed.  It  seems  to  be  considered  that  if 
infallibility  is  granted,  then  all  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  right  and  sure  knowledge  and  belief  vanishes. 
Nothing  more  imposes  on  minds  that  have  been  in 
doubt,  and  crave  an  absolute  certainty,  than  the  claim 
of  the  church  to  be  a  present,  inspired,  infallible 
teacher  of  the  truth.  But  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is 
a  mistaken  apprehension. 

In  the  first  place,  we  remark  that  it  is  not  an  in- 
fallible teacher  that  is  needed,  but  an  infallible 
learner.  An  infallible  teacher  will  avail  nothing 
unless  the  learner  be  equally  infallible.  Moses  and 
the  prophets  were  infallible  teachers;  but  the  Jews 
did  not  therefore  learn  from  them  and  retain  the 
truth  of  God.  Jesus  and  the  Apostles  were  infalli- 
ble teachers — authenticating  their  authority  to  teach 
by  signs  and  wonders — and  yet  how  many  did  not 
believe,  and  how  many  who  did  believe,  believed 
amiss!  No  additional  perfection  in  the  teacher,  if 
that  were  possible;  no  multiplication  of  infallibili- 
ties, if  they  could  be  multiplied,  would  secure  the 
soul  of  the  taught  in  truth  and  holiness.  The  great 
difficulty  is  found  in  the  sin,  and  blindness,  and  un- 
belief of  the  heart  to  whom  the  truth  is  addressed. 
We  have  already  an  infallible  teacher  in  the  in- 
spired Word,  administered  by  the  Spirit.  This, 
while  it  does  not  secure  all  who  seek  the  truth  from 
every  error,  does  lead  the  believing,  and  honest,  and 
earnest  soul  into  all  truth  which  is  necessary  for 
salvation  and  for  spiritual  life.  Now  it  would  not 
secure  absolute  exemption  from  all  error,  and  cer- 
tain introduction  into  all  truth,  if  a  present  infallible 
interpreter  were  added,  to  make  known  the  meaning 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  28T 

of  the  present  inspired  Word,  any  more  than  when 
the  Apostles  were,  under  the  very  teachings  of  Christ 
himself,  the  inspired  interpreters  of  his  words:  the 
disciples  were  kept  within  a  rigid  mechanical  uni- 
formity of  faith  and  dogma,  and  secured  as  by  a 
physical  necessity  from  falling  into  error.  Even  then, 
if  we  should  grant  that  the  church  were  an  infallible 
interpreter  of  the  infallible  Word, — if  we  could  have 
such  a  guide, — it  would  avail  little  to  save  the  soul 
from  error.  Without  humility,  penitence,  and  faith, 
it  could  not,  even  then,  accept  the  truth ;  and  with 
them  it  can  accept  it  now.  The  Word  is  truth,  and 
the  Spirit,  sought  and  used,  will  lead  us  into  all  truth 
necessary  for  salvation  and  for  life. 

But  this  infallible  teacher  that  is  promised  us— ^ 
where  is  it  to  be  found  ?     There  is  one  who  can  au-  \ 
thoritatively  assure  us  where  it  is,  and  what  it  is.  / 
We  are  promised  an  infallible  teacher  in  the  church;  j 
and  lo !  we  need  another  infallible  teacher — and  he 
does  not  come — to  teach  us  where  the  Teacher  is. 
Some  of  the  doctors  of  the  church  declare  that  it  is 
in  the  Pope  alone;  some  that  it  is  alone  in  the  Gen- 
eral Councils;    some  that  it  is  in  both  combined; 
some  that  it  is  in  neither  singly  nor  in  their  combi- 
nation; but  that  it  is  in  the  voice  of  the  collective 
church.     If  we  seek  it  in  the  Popes  we  find  them 
frequently  in  direct  conflict  on  points  of  prime  im- 
portance.    If  we  go  to  the  Councils  we  find  Con- 
stance against  Trent,  and  both  against  Mce.     To 
obtain  a  consentient  teaching,  from  interconnecting 
Popes  and  Councils,  or  from  the  General  Church  of  | 
all  ages,  would  be  to  evolve  ordered  music  from  the  r 
broken  and  tangled   strings  of  a  shattered  harp.  \ 
How  then  is  the  case  of  a  Protestant  practically  im-  J 


288  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

proved  in  reference  to  Ms  assurance  of  being  under 
a  perfect  guide,  by  this  promise  of  an  infallible 
teacher,  whom  he  cannot  locate  and  cannot  find? 
And  if  he  could  find  the  teacher,  could  he  under- 
stand the  teaching  ?  For  it  is  a  curious  fact  in  con- 
nection with  this  claim  to  be  an  infallible  teacher  of 
the  truth,  that  the  Roman  Church  professes  to  inter- 
pret Scripture,  not  in  the  independent  exercise  of  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  dictated  the  Scripture, 
and  which  is,  in  herself,  but  in  accordance  with  tradi- 
tion. And  what  is  tradition  ?  The  consentient  tes- 
timony of  the  fathers.  Now  how  is  the  condition  of 
the  private  Christian  improved  who  has  been  ac- 
customed to  rely  upon  his  Bible,  under  the  teachings 
of  the  Spirit,  and  in  connection  with  the  prayers  of 
the  church  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word;  how  is  it 
improved  by  having  an  infallible  teacher  who,  after 
all,  only  gathers  and  repeats  the  opinions  of  the  un- 
inspired fathers  of  the  church,  some  of  whom  were 
foolish,  and  who,  not  singly  infallible,  cannot  possi- 
bly be  infallible  when  combined?  The  case  is  not 
improved  to  a  thoughtful  mind,  by  the  assurance 
that  the  teachings  of  the  church  are  compacted  into 
a  little  catechism  which  a  child  can  learn  and  com- 
prehend ;  for  the  suggestion  constantly  occurs  that 
he  has  no  assurance,  that  by  whomsoever  composed 
— by  doctor,  or  Pope,  or  Council, — they  are  abso- 
lutely infallible,  for  he  cannot  ascertain  that  infalli- 
bility resides  in  either  or  in  all.  Oh !  vain  the  at- 
tempt to  obtain  a  better  or  surer  teacher  than  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  the  Saviour,  before  his  ascen- 
sion, promised  to  all  his  disciples;  vain  the  hope 
of  a  higher  blessing,  in  connection  with  the  search 
for  the  truth,  than  that  pronounced  by  the  Master: 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  289 

"Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and 
keep  it!" 

IV.  Time  will  not  permit  me  to  enter  at  the  same 
length  upon  the  other  claim  of  unity  in  the  body, 
outside  of  which  there  can  be  no  life,  and  schism 
from  which  must  be  inevitable  death.  This  unity 
was  described  to  be  not  only  exterior  in  organiza- 
tion, but  interior  in  holy  charity,  and  in  the  uni- 
versal possession  of  one  faith  and  one  doctrine.  The 
question  was  asked,  "How  can  that  be  the  one  body, 
informed  by  one  Spirit,  in  which  so  many  heteroge- 
neous doctrines  and  sentiments  prevail?"  Without 
entering  now  upon  that  large  question,  of  the  unity 
of  the  church,  it  is  sufficient  to  remark  that  the  same 
series  of  questions,  and  the  same  train  of  observa- 
tions, which  were  supposed  to  be  conclusive  against 
the  claims  of  all  religious  bodies  outside  the  Papal 
Church  to  belong  to  the  one  body  of  Christ,  would 
be  equally  conclusive  against  that  church  herself. 
"How,"  wre  may  ask, — taking  up  that  mode  of  arguA 
ment, — "how  can  that  be  one  body,  informed  by/ 
one  Spirit,  in  which  one  party  locates  the  vast 
and  momentous  prerogative  of  infallibility  in  the 
Pope,  another  in  the  Councils,  another  in  both,  and 
another  in  neither,  but  in  the  church  universal  of 

all  asres?     How  can  that  be  one  tree  from  one  root 

» 

and  homogeneous,  which  bears  on  one  branch  the ' 
doctrine  of  the  Jansenists,  of  j  ustification  by  faith;/ 
and  on  the  other  the  doctrine  of  the  Jesuits,  of  jus- ( 
tification   by  works   and  by  grace   infused?     Howl 
can  that  body  be  pervaded  by  Spirit,  whose  fruit 
is   love,  which  was  rent  by  the  fierce  discords  of 
Jansenists   and  Jesuits,  Dominicans   and   Francis- 
cans?   How  can  the  same  illuminating  spirit  teach, 

36* 


290.  ST.    PAUL    IX    ROME. 

at  the  same  time,  Transmontaue  and  Cisalpine  doc- 
trine to  different  portions  of  the  one  body?     How 
can  the  bishops  and  priests  in  Rome  and  Southern 
Italy  claim  the  temporal  authority  of  the  Papacy  to 
be  a  divine  prerogative  or  a  sacred  duty,  and  10,000 
priests  in  Northern  Italy  regard  it  as  an  usurpation 
and  degradation,  and  treason  to  the  great  head  of 
the  church,  and  yet  both  be  under  the  teachings  of 
the  same  Holy  Spirit,  and  united  by  him  in  the  same 
holy  body?     How  can  the  priests  who,  in  the  South- 
ern States  of  America,  vindicate  slavery  as  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Word  of  God,  and  in  the  Northern 
.  States  denounce  it  as  utterly  at  variance  with  the 
I  teachings  of  the  Bible  and  the  church,  be  of  one 
,  body  and  taught  of  one  Spirit?     And  so  we  might 
1  proceed  with   many   more   and   similar   contrasts. 
Surely  no   diversities  which  prevail  among  Prot- 
estants are  greater  or  more  fundamental  and  vital 
than  these;  and  if  their  variations  conclude  them  to 
be  not  under  the  teachings  of  the  Spirit  and  not  in 
l   the  body  of  Christ,  these  variations  of  Popery  no 
less  prove  her  to  be  in  the  same  situation.    The  truth 
is  that  there  is  more  diversity  of  sentiment  and  more 
difference  of  opinion  on  fundamental  points  within 
the  church,  whose  boast  is  that  of  absolute  uni- 
formity of  faith  and  feeling,  than  prevail  among  the 
great  body  of  Protestant  Christians  of  various  names. 
(  There  is,  at  this  moment,  in  this  room,  among  the 
|  various   churches   here   represented,  which   Rome 
(  would  describe  as  the  warring  and  discordant  sects, 
,  more  of  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  under  the  bond  of 
peace,  and  more  substantial  agreement  of  opinion  on 
I  points  of  prime  importance,  pertaining  to  life  and 
i  godliness,  than  there  is  among  the  "Romanists  now  at 
Rome! 


ST.   PAUL    IN    ROME.  291 

I  have  thought  it  well,  my  Christian  brethren,  to 
prove  that  the  claims  of  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be 
the  one  body  of  Christ,  with  the  exclusive  life  of  the 
one  Holy  Spirit,  as  evidenced  by  sanctity,  by  infalli- 
bility, and  by  unity  of  faith  and  feeling,  are  utterly 
without  foundation ;  by  showing  that  she  has  not 
superior  holiness,  that  she  has  not  and  cannot  have 
infallibility,  and  that  her  boasted  unity  is  but  the 
enforced  external  union  of  warring  elements.  This 
train  of  thought  may  be  useful  to  those  who  are  im- 
pressed with  the  abstract  and  plausible  argumenta- 
tion to  the  effect  that  there  must  be  this  unity  and 
infallibility  in  the  church,  on  the  ground  of  the  in- 
conveniences which  arise  from  their  absence,  and 
the  advantages  which  they  would  bring.  The  argu- 
ment that  they  must  be,  on  the  grounds  of  their  need 
and  usefulness,  may  well  be  met  by  the  demonstra- 
tion that  they  are  not.  If  a  man  contends  that  a 
certain  thing  really  is,  because  it  must  needs  be,  then 
the  must  needs  be  falls  to  the  ground  when  it  is  de- 
monstrated that  the  thing  is  not.  Such  is  the  nature 
of  the  argument.  "When  Rome  dwells  upon  the 
varieties  of  religious  opinions  which  prevail  outside 
of  her  communion;  when  she  depicts  and  exagger- 
ates the  dissensions  of  Protestantism;  when  she 
paints  a  beautiful  and  attractive  picture  of  the  one 
church  of  God,  pervaded  and  taught  by  the  one 
Spirit,  the  home  of  superior  sanctity,  where  all  are 
bound  together  in  one  golden  bond  of  love,  where 
the  teacher  speaks  with  divine  authority  and  where 
the  disciple  cannot  err,  where  all  doubts  and  ques- 
tionings as  to  what  is  truth,  and  all  misgivings  as  to 
ultimate  salvation  are  forever  hushed  to  rest;  when 
she  thus  appeals  to  minds  and  hearts  that  are  not  at 


292  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

peace  through  simple  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
she  seems  to  promise  that  for  which  they  yearn ;  and 
for  persons  in  such  a  position  it  may  not  be  useless 
as  a  preventive  and  a  preliminary  to  show  to  them 
that  these  pretensions  are  utterly  fallacious ;  that  she 
does  not  possess  that  of  which  she  boasts,  and  can- 
iiot  give  what  she  promises ;  and  that  the  reality  to 
the  experience  of  the  convert  will  be  hideously  un- 
like the  promises  held  out  to  the  hope  of  the  in- 
quirer. 

But,  indeed,  these  claims  can  seem  to  have  the 
least  plausibility  only  to  those  who  permit  themselves 
to  dwell  much  on  the  real  or  the  exaggerated 
diversities  of  opinion  among  Protestants,  or  to  be 
troubled  by  doubts  arising  from  the  action  of  their 
own  unaided  and  not  very  earnest  speculations,  and 
who  do  not  keep  their  minds  in  habitual  contact 
with  the  Word  of  God.  They  who  devoutly  read 
the  Word  of  God  with  faith  and  prayer,  and  drink 
in  the  spirit  of  its  teachings,  cannot  be  accessible 
to  the  fallacies  which  would  persuade  them  that  it 
is  unintelligible  or  injurious  to  their  souls  without 
an  infallible  human  interpreter.  !N"or  can  such  per- 
sons be  entangled  in  the  net-work  of  interminable 
argumentations  and  sophistries  upon  unity  and  in- 
fallibility and  their  connected  falsehoods,  because 
they  can  cut  their  way  right  through  them  with  that 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God. 
What  need  to  climb  up  this  elaborate  pagoda  and 
take  apart,  piece  by  piece,  its  twisted  fret-work,  and 
unloose  its  jingling  bells,  and  painfully  and  slowly 
tear  off  its  painted  pasteboard  ornaments,  when 
single  blows  from  the  hammer  of  the  Lord  will  at 
once  knock  away  its  foundation  stones?  The  de- 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  293 

vout  reader  of  the  "Word  of  God  is  furnished  with 
principles  which  enable  him  at  once  to  set  aside  the 
claims  and  pretensions  of  the  Papacy,  without  the 
need  of  following  her  in  her  line  of  argumentation 
into  details  which  confuse  the  mind  by  their  com- 
plexity and  weary  it  with  their  number. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  doctrine  that  we  are  not  to 
read  and  accept  for  ourselves  the  teachings  of  the 
"Word  of  God.  Nothing  could  be  more  absolutely 
conclusive  than  the  words  of  the  Master,  in  the 
Gospel  for  the  day,  against  this  most  false,  most  in- 
jurious, and  to  Him,  the  great  head  of.  the  church, 
who  has  expressly  declared  the  opposite,  this  most 
traitorous  dogma.  Jesus,  the  great  teacher,  the 
head  of  the  church,  declared  that  "Blessed  are  they 
that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and  keep  it."  Yea, 
rather  blessed,  or  more  blessed,  was  it  to  hear  and 
keep  the  Word  of  God  than  to  have  been  his  human 
mother.  What  a  double  testimony  is  this  against 
the  idolatrous  exaltation  of  his  mother  and  in  honor 
of  the  Word  of  God!  Now  whatever  else  may  be 
true  or  false,  this  is  true  on  the  infallible  testimony 
of  Christ  himself,  that  not  deluded,  not  disobedient 
to  his  authority,  but  "  blessed,"  and  acting  in  accord- 
ance with  his  own  holy  will,  are  they  that  hear  and 
keep  that  Word.  Now  as  by  this  one  word  of  God, 
this  claim  of  the  Papacy  is  at  once  destroyed ;  so  by 
other  words,  in  their  spirit  or  letter,  are  all  its  dis- 
tinctive dogmas  to  be  annihilated.  If  the  Word  of 
God  be  in  the  mind  and  in  the  heart,  the  confuta-^ 
tion  of  all  the  claims  of  the  Papacy  is  then  already 
in  advance.  They  can  find  no  entrance  and  make 
no  lodgment  in  your  mind.  Let  me  entreat  you, 
therefore,  to  make  it  the  subject  of  your  habitual 


294  ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME. 

and  prayerful  study  and  meditation.  God's  Spirit, 
on  God's  Word,  which  is  truth,  will  lead  you  into 
all  saving  truth.  Let  me  entreat  you  to  keep  away 
from  instructions  which  may  beguile  you  into  for- 
getfulness  of  those  foundation  principles  which  are 
a  perpetual  confutation  of  all  the  errors  of  the 
Church  of  Borne.  A  practiced  dialectician,  a  skill- 
ful orator  may  thus  lay  you  open  to  its  delusive  and 
flattering  claims,  if  he  gets  you  off  from  the  simple 
rock  of  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  revealed  to  you  in  the 
Word,  confound  and  perplex  you  with  subtleties 
which  you  .cannot  answer,  but  which  would  not 
have  disturbed  you  for  a  moment  if  you  had  been 
living  close  to  God,  through  the  communications  of 
his  word  and  the  fellowship  of  his  spirit,  and  had 
been  able  to  have  answered  all  sophistries,  with  the 
assurance  which  is  the  same  time  experience,  "I 
know  whom  I  have  believed." 

My  friends,  let  me  assure  you  as  a  pastor  who 
knows  something  of  the  mental  torture  of  those 
who  have  passed  into  Romanism  from  Protestant- 
ism, that  if  you  are  again  entangled  in  this  }7oke  of 
bondage  you  will  find  that  it  is  such  as  you  will  not 
be  able,  as  our  fathers  were  not  able,  to  bear.  Its 
promises  of  assurance  to  the  doubting  mind,  and  of 
rest  to  the  agitated  heart,  are  most  delusive.  It 
cannot  be  with  those  who  go  out  of  Protestantism 
into  Romanism,  as  it  is  with  those  who  have  been 
trained  in  that  system  from  childhood.  There  will 
be  the  memory  of  a  happier  past  to  throw  deeper 
gloom  on  the  gloomy  present.  There  will  be  a 
higher  moral  and  spiritual  culture  to  create  a  revul- 
sion of  the  soul  as  it  is  admitted  further  into  the  ex- 
emplification in  practice  of  dogmas  and  rites  and 


ST.  PAUL    IN    ROME.  295 

ceremonies  which  were  fascinating  in  the  theory. 
What  does  it  offer  for  those  whose  privilege  it  is  in 
simple  faith  to  receive  from  the  Lord  Jesus  a  com- 
plete salvation,  an  indwelling  comforter,  a  guide  in 
the  Word  which  is  a  light  to  our  feet  and  a  lantern 
to  our  paths  in  all  difficulties  and  doubts,  and  beyond, 
a  heaven  of  rest  when  we  fall  asleep  in  Jesus  ?  For 
this  precious  and  full  and  present  salvation,  what 
does  it  offer?  It  invites  you  to  a  system  in  which 
your  soul  will  be  perpetually  tortured  with  fear  that 
your  sins  cast  you  out  from  God's  favor,  and  that 
your  good  works  are  not  sufficient  to  bring  you  back; 
in  which  you  will  be  perpetually  vibrating  between 
a  state  of  condemnation  and  one  of  forgiveness,  the 
one  inevitably  induced  by  the  frailty  of  your  nature, 
and  the  other  dependent  upon  the  forgiveness  of  the 
priest ;  and  then  at  last  on  the  death-bed,  when  the 
body  is  fainting  with  anguish,  it  will  have  no  better 
comfort  to  speak  to  your  poor  trembling  soul  than 
of  a  dim,  far  distant  heaven,  to  be  reached  after  un- 
counted ages  upon  ages  of  awful  purgatorial  fire. 
U0h,  my  soul!  come  not  unto  their  secret;  into 
their  assembly  be  not  thou  united!" 


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